Bud Cort, Harold and Maude Star, Dies at 77

Bud Cort, the actor best known for his portrayal of the death-obsessed young man in the 1971 cult classic Harold and Maude, died on Wednesday in Connecticut after a long illness. He was 77.

Cort's death was confirmed by his longtime friend and producer Dorian Hannaway. Born Walter Edward Cox on March 29, 1948, in New Rochelle, New York, he adopted the stage name Bud Cort to distinguish himself from another performer. From a young age, Cort displayed a deep passion for the arts. He skipped school to attend Broadway matinees, including performances of Funny Girl starring Barbra Streisand, and befriended Streisand's sister, Roslyn Kind, at the stage door. "I was only fourteen when I met Bud at the backstage door at my sister's play," Kind said in a statement. "He was majoring in art at the time in high school. We became close friends who shared our interest in entertainment. When I got married, Bud and our songwriter friend, Bruce Roberts, wrote a special song that was performed at the ceremony. His unique spirit will always be with me."

After briefly attending New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and studying acting with Stella Adler, Cort moved to Los Angeles to pursue...