Jack Kehoe, an iconic character actor known for roles in films like Serpico, The Sting, Midnight Run, and The Untouchables, has passed away at the age of 85. According to his family, who announced the news in an obituary in the Los Angeles Times, Kehoe passed away on Tuesday, January 14th. The cause of death is not publicly known, but Kehoe had been inactive for several years after suffering a debilitating stroke in 2015.
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Kehoe was born on November 21, 1934, in Astoria, Queens, and enlisted in the Army shortly after high school. After serving three years in the 101st Airborne Division, Kehoe began to work odd jobs, which led to him studying under legendary acting coach Stella Alder. Kehoe appeared in several Broadway and off-Broadway productions in the 1960s, and made his film debut by playing a bartender in the 1971 adaptation of The Gang Who Couldn’t Shoot Straight.
Kehoe appeared in several cult classics across the 1970s, including Car Wash and The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh, before playing Erie Kid in 1973’s The Sting, which went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture. The same year, he played Tom Keough in Sidney Lumet’s Serpico. He then went on to play Al Capone’s bookkeeper in The Untouchables, and Jerry Geisler in Midnight Run.
On the television side, Kehoe appeared in the 1980s reboot of The Twilight Zone, as well as Miami Vice and Murder, She Wrote. His later roles included The Star Chamber, D.O.A., Young Guns II, Falling Down, The Paper, Gospel According to Harry, Melvin and Howards, Reds, and The Pope of Greenwich Village. His final onscreen role was in 1997’s The Game.
Kehoe was candid about not working as prolifically as some actors in Hollywood, as well as the ever-evolving state of the entertainment industry.
“How much money does one person need in this life? How many cars can you own? How many houses can you live in?” he asked in a 1974 story in New York magazine. “I saw those TV series stars out on the coast riding around in their sports cars like kids with a ten-thousand-dollar toy, crashing into trees and driving off the edges of mountains because they’re bored. They’re not using themselves as actors anymore, and it all become about making money.”
Kehoe is survived by his companion of 40 years, Sherry Smith, his nephew Michael Henry, his niece Ronnie Henry, and their families. A funeral will be conducted at the Forest Lawn Cemetery.
Our thoughts are with Kehoe’s family, friends, and fans at this time.
