Dean Stockwell dies; actor in ‘Quantum Leap,’ ‘Blue Velvet’

Dean Stockwell, an American histrion with a vocation that spanned much than 70 years, died connected Sunday. He was 85.

Sources representing the histrion accidental that helium died peacefully, successful his slumber astatine home.

Among his champion credits were a starring relation successful the sci-fi bid “Quantum Leap,” “Air Force One” and David Lynch films “Dune” and “Blue Velvet.”

Born arsenic Robert Dean Stockwell successful March 1936, Stockwell began his vocation arsenic a kid histrion nether declaration to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. His archetypal known movie quality was successful “Valley of Decision” successful 1945. Other aboriginal titles included “Anchors Aweigh” and “The Green Years.”

Arguably, Stockwell’s biggest relation was arsenic Admiral ‘Al’ Calavicci successful NBC sci-series “Quantum Leap,” which ran for 5 seasons starting successful 1989. The womanizing, larger-than-life quality was the foil for Scott Bakula’s relation arsenic Dr. Sam Beckett, a physicist who engaged successful abstraction clip experiments.

The relation earned Stockwell aggregate nominations for the Primetime Emmys and for the Golden Globes, with a Golden Globe triumph successful 1990 for “best show by an histrion successful a supporting relation successful a series, miniseries oregon question representation made for television.” Stockwell received a prima connected Hollywood’s Walk of Fame connected Feb. 29, 1992.

Stockwell earned a supporting histrion Oscar information for Jonathan Demme’s 1988 movie “Married to the Mob,” successful which helium plays sleazy mob brag Tony Russo.

Before that helium was doubly named champion histrion astatine the Cannes movie festival, successful 1959 and 1962. The archetypal was for “Compulsion,” successful which Stockwell reprised a relation helium had earlier played connected Broadway. The 2nd was arsenic Edmund successful a mentation of Eugene O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey into Night” that starred Jason Robards and Katharine Hepburn.

Stockwell famously dropped successful and retired of his acting career. In the 1960s, helium joined the Topanga Canyon hippie group, did drugs and participated successful love-ins. In the aboriginal 1980s, aft becoming depressed astir his acting career, Stockwell obtained a existent property licence and moved retired of Hollywood. He was seemingly persuaded by Harry Dean Stanton to instrumentality and effort again.

What followed were roles successful immoderate of the era’s defining movies. These included Wim Wenders’ “Paris, Texas,” “To Live and Die successful L.A.,” “Robert Altman’s “The Player,” “Married to the Mob” and the 2 Lynch movies.

He went connected to person recurring roles successful the “Battlestar Galactica” bid and “The Tony Danza Show.”