Veteran actor George Coe dies, aged 86

Actor George Coe has passed away, aged 86. Photo / Getty Images

Veteran actor George Coe has died, aged 86.

Coe died in Santa Monica, California on Saturday, following a long, undisclosed illness.

The New York native's career in show business spanned more than five decades, with his talents first featured in theatre. He was a regular on The Great White Way, starring in the original Broadway cast of shows such as musical Mame, opposite Dame Angela Lansbury, Stephen Sondheim's Company, and Harold Prince's On The Twentieth Century.

Coe continued working in the Big Apple as an original member of the Not Ready For Prime Time Players, the predecessor to Saturday Night Live, although he was only credited as a cast member for the premiere episode in 1975.

His other television credits include guest stints on The West Wing, Grey's Anatomy, Columbo, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Gilmore Girls, The Golden Girls, and Murder, She Wrote.

Coe also made a big splash on the big screen, and was perhaps best known for his role as an advertisement agency executive in Oscar-winning movie Kramer vs Kramer.

He received an Academy Award nomination in 1968 for his comedic short film, The Dove, which he also co-directed.

His other film credits include The Stepford Wives, The End of Innocence, The Mighty Ducks, Funny People, and one of his last movie roles as the voice of Autobot Wheeljack in Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

Coe, who also had an impressive presence in commercials both on camera and voice over, was also involved with the Screen Actors Guild, having served as the vice president for the SAG national board of directors.

He was honoured with the Ralph Morgan Award for services to SAG in 2009.

- WENN