Stacy Keach, one of America’s best stage actors, best known for playing the rough private detective Mike Hammer on TV, has died at the age of 85. His career was in danger of being compromised after he was jailed in 1984 for attempting to smuggle cocaine into Britain. This was announced by CNN.
Keach died at his home in Magdalenka, Poland, “after a long and difficult battle with a serious heart condition and heart failure”, said his wife, Malgosia Tomassi Keach, in breaking the news to the media. Keach had already suffered a heart attack on stage in Chicago in June 2017.
Stacy Keach, from Shakespeare to success with Mike Hammer and the film Jay Kelly
Although he was considered a leading interpreter of Shakespeare and a favorite actor of legendary directors such as John Huston, Keach remained inextricably linked to his portrayal of tough guy Mike Hammer, the fictional private detective created by detective novelist Mickey Spillane. One of his last important film roles was given to him last year: he gave an excellent performance as George Clooney’s father in «Jay Kelly».