Ned Beatty, 1937-2021

American actor Ned Thomas Beatty, who played Lex Luthor’s henchman Otis in Superman and Superman II, has passed away at the age of 83. Beatty was born July 6, 1937 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. He died June 13, 2021 of natural causes in Los Angeles, CA.

Beatty was an award-winning actor, nicknamed “the busiest actor in Hollywood” by Variety. From 1972 to 2013, he appeared in 166 roles in films and TV shows. Before working in film he spent over a decade on stage.

Super Villains, et al.

Ned Beatty played Father Edwards in The Exorcist II: The Heretic. He was Inspector Victor Valiant in Replikator. In The Incredible Shrinking Woman he played Dan Beame. He appeared in Thunderpants with Stephen Fry and a pre-Ron Weasley Rupert Grint. Beatty was Grandpa in Purple People Eater. He voiced Lotso (Lots-O’-Hugging Bear) in Toy Story 3 and voiced Tortoise John in Rango. He was Sam Kolawetz in the 1990 Captain America, starring Matt Salinger rather than Chris Evans. His real life son Tom Beatty played young Sam. He starred as Harry Orth in Time Trackers. He appeared in Gulliver’s Travels, in the Brobdingnag section, with Warwick Davis (Willow, Leprechaun, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone).

Notable Roles

Other notable roles include Bobby Trippe in Deliverance, Delbert Reese in Nashville, and the sheriff in Where the Red Fern Grows. He was nominated for an Oscar for his role as Arthur Jensen in Network. Playing Josef Locke in Hear My Song earned him a Golden Globe nomination. He was nominated for an Emmy for playing Gene Mullen in Friendly Fire. Ned Beatty was nominated for the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain for Lotso in Toy Story 3. He played Detective Stanley Bolander in 33 episodes of Homicide: Life on the Street, which co-starred Yaphet Kotto (Parker in Alien) as Lt. Al Giordello.

His theater work included Willie Loman in Death of a Salesman. Beatty won the Drama Desk Award in 2004 for his performance as Big Daddy in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. He made his stage debut at the age of 19 in Wilderness Road

Ned Beatty as Husband and Father

Ned Beatty was married four times and had eight children. He and his first wife, Walta Chandler, were married from 1959 to 1968. They had four children: Douglas, Charles, Lennis, and Walter. He and his second wife, actress Belinda Rowley (Liz in The Exorcist II) , were married were married from 1971 to 1979. They had two children, John and Blossom. Beatty and his third wife, writer/producer Dorothy “Tinker” Lindsay were married from 1979 to 1998. They had two children, Thomas and Dorothy. His fourth wife was Sandra Johnson. They were wed in 1999 and had no children. Deepest condolences to his family, friends, and fans.

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