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RIP: Donald Sutherland - Dead at 88

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RIP: Donald Sutherland - Dead at 88

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Old 06-20-24 | 12:19 PM
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RIP: Donald Sutherland - Dead at 88

Donald Sutherland, the beloved actor who starred in scores of films from The Dirty Dozen, MASH and Klute to Animal House and Ordinary People to Pride & Prejudice and The Hunger Games franchise and won an Emmy for Citizen X, died Thursday in Miami after a long illness. He was 88.

The 2017 Honorary Oscar recipient also is the father of Emmy-winning 24 and Designated Survivor actor Kiefer Sutherland and veteran CAA Media Finance exec Roeg Sutherland. CAA confirmed the news to Deadline.

In some of his most well-known roles, he perfected a laconic, wry and dead-serious delivery as such characters as the cool-headed amateur murder investigator John Klute, opposite Jane Fonda’s terrified, erratic call girl Bree Daniels, in Klute; as the Hawkeye Pierce in the film MASH, where he played opposite Elliott Gould’s cut-up Trapper John; and in Nicolas Reog’s Don’t Look Now as skeptical John Baxter, who does not believe the claims of wife Laura (Julie Christie) that their recently dead daughter is reaching out from the other side.

In one early change-of-pace characterization, Sutherland played a sadistic fascist in Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1976 epic 1900, in which his character gleefully swings a child by the heels, bashing the boy’s head against a wall.

Born on July 17, 1935, in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, Donald Sutherland amassed some 200 film and TV credits spanning more than 60 years, from guesting on episodes of 1960s series including Suspense, The Avengers, Court Martial and The Odd Man to last year’s Paramount+ drama Bass Reeves. His big break in movies came with Robert Aldrich’s star-packed 1967 World War II drama The Dirty Dozen, playing Vernon Pinkley opposite Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, George Kennedy, Telly Savalas and others. A hit in theaters, it remains a seminal American war movie.

His next big role was as Capt. Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce in Robert Altman’s 1970 Korean War dramedy MASH. The alternatively harrowing and hilarious film earned five Oscar nominations including Best Picture, winning for Ring Lardner Jr.’s biting screenplay, and fueled the 1972-83 CBS series in which Alda Alda played Hawkeye.

Sutherland followed that with another star-laden war movie, 1970’s Kelly’s Heroes, playing Sgt. Oddball alongside Clint Eastwood, Don Rickles, Savalas and others. That led to perhaps his biggest star turn, in the 1971 Alan J. Pakula crime drama Klute. He starred opposite Fonda as New York Detective John Klute, who is hired to find a chemical company executive who has disappeared. Fonda won her first Oscar for the role, and Andy Lewis & Dave Lewis were nominated for their Original Screenplay.

Sutherland’s next big movie was Nicolas Roeg’s psychological thriller Don’t Look Now, which he followed up with the 1974 international espionage comedy S*P*Y*S, reteaming with Gould, and 1975’s Hollywood-set Day of the Locust. Starring with William Atherton, Karen Black and Burgess Meredith, he played accountant Homer Simpson, who covets Black’s aspiring actress Faye Greener.

Sutherland won a Golden Globe for the television movie Path to War, an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe for his performance in the miniseries Citizen X. His extensive television credits also include The Undoing, Trust, Dirty Sexy Money, and The Pillars of the Earth, among many others.

Sutherland is survived by his wife Francine Racette; sons Roeg, Rossif, Angus, and Kiefer; daughter Rachel; and four grandchildren. A private celebration of life will be held by the family.

Mike Fleming Jr. and Greg Evans contributed to this report.

MORE TO COME…
https://deadline.com/2024/06/donald-...ad-1235978933/
Old 06-20-24 | 12:22 PM
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Re: RIP: Donald Sutherland - Dead at 88

RIP Homer Simpson
Old 06-20-24 | 12:23 PM
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Re: RIP: Donald Sutherland - Dead at 88

Damn. Sad to hear. He had a storied career and must have routinely been one of the busiest actors around. Too many memorable roles in Film and TV to list.

RIP
Old 06-20-24 | 12:23 PM
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Re: RIP: Donald Sutherland - Dead at 88

RIP to an iconic Canadian actor.
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Old 06-20-24 | 12:25 PM
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Re: RIP: Donald Sutherland - Dead at 88

Sad news. He had a legendary career.

Too many great roles to mention.
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Old 06-20-24 | 12:33 PM
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Old 06-20-24 | 12:33 PM
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Re: RIP: Donald Sutherland - Dead at 88

One of the greats.
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Old 06-20-24 | 12:36 PM
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Re: RIP: Donald Sutherland - Dead at 88

that sucks.
Old 06-20-24 | 12:37 PM
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Re: RIP: Donald Sutherland - Dead at 88

Loved, loved him. Animal House, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Don't Look Now, MASH. He was so great.
And I loved his villainous turn in his old age as well. Trust was outstanding and he was great in The Undoing as well.
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Old 06-20-24 | 12:38 PM
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Re: RIP: Donald Sutherland - Dead at 88

Damn, another big loss this year.

He looks just like Anthony Bourdain in that picture.
Old 06-20-24 | 12:51 PM
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Re: RIP: Donald Sutherland - Dead at 88

Wow. RIP to a great actor.
Old 06-20-24 | 12:54 PM
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Re: RIP: Donald Sutherland - Dead at 88

This one really hits home.

RIP Oddball Woof Woof
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Old 06-20-24 | 01:05 PM
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Re: RIP: Donald Sutherland - Dead at 88

Amazing he never won an Oscar. Inexcusable that he never was nominated for one. RIP
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Old 06-20-24 | 01:12 PM
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Re: RIP: Donald Sutherland - Dead at 88


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Old 06-20-24 | 01:13 PM
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Re: RIP: Donald Sutherland - Dead at 88

Originally Posted by Shannon Nutt
Amazing he never won an Oscar. Inexcusable that he never was nominated for one. RIP
He didn't really pick many "Oscar-bait" type rolls.
Old 06-20-24 | 01:14 PM
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Re: RIP: Donald Sutherland - Dead at 88

Originally Posted by General Zod
That still haunts my dreams. Messed me up as a middle schooler!
Old 06-20-24 | 01:29 PM
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Re: RIP: Donald Sutherland - Dead at 88

RIP 😢

I think I’ll go watch The Great Train Robbery in his memory.
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Old 06-20-24 | 01:54 PM
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Re: RIP: Donald Sutherland - Dead at 88

The Puppet Masters, a 1994 film, is not a good film but at the same time one of those films that I found very fun to watch.

Saw it in theaters and at least one more time on DVD, I think.

I love that Sutherland starred in films like The Puppet Masters.
Old 06-20-24 | 02:09 PM
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Re: RIP: Donald Sutherland - Dead at 88

My introduction to him was the pot smoking professor in Animal House...RIP.
Old 06-20-24 | 02:17 PM
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Re: RIP: Donald Sutherland - Dead at 88

One of the few actors that can play a bad guy and still be likable. RIP to a fine actor.

Coincidently one of the contractors who did work on my house had more than a passing resemblance to a younger Donald and he was a super nice guy, we had hoped he could do an addition for us but we recently found out he had retired but my wife and I like to pretend its Donads side gig
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Old 06-20-24 | 02:24 PM
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Re: RIP: Donald Sutherland - Dead at 88

Originally Posted by Shannon Nutt
Amazing he never won an Oscar. Inexcusable that he never was nominated for one. RIP
That's easy to say, but where do you think he would've/should've been nominated? The two big ones were MASH and Ordinary People. I haven't seen all of the nominated movies released in those two years, but there are a lot of big guns nominated in best actor.

Don't Look Now's reputation has grown considerably since release, but wasn't an Oscar player at the time. Maybe JFK, but that cast was stacked and Tommy Lee Jones got the supporting nom there. I also don't recall how much his part was expanded in the directors cut. I'm sure there's some other random supporting turn somewhere people will advocate for, but quickly glancing through his filmography, I didn't see much that jumps out.
Old 06-20-24 | 02:33 PM
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Re: RIP: Donald Sutherland - Dead at 88

Originally Posted by Decker
He didn't really pick many "Oscar-bait" type rolls.


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Old 06-20-24 | 02:33 PM
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Re: RIP: Donald Sutherland - Dead at 88

Originally Posted by rocket1312
That's easy to say, but where do you think he would've/should've been nominated? The two big ones were MASH and Ordinary People. I haven't seen all of the nominated movies released in those two years, but there are a lot of big guns nominated in best actor.
The other three leads for Ordinary People all got Oscar nods, but Best Actor was stacked that year. I can't remember Jack Lemmon in Tribute at all, but the other nominees were pretty iconic- Robert Duvall in The Great Santini, Peter O'Toole in My Favorite Year, John Hurt in The Elephant Man and eventual winner Robert De Niro for Raging Bull. That's a Murderer's row!
Old 06-20-24 | 02:51 PM
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Re: RIP: Donald Sutherland - Dead at 88

Originally Posted by Decker
The other three leads for Ordinary People all got Oscar nods, but Best Actor was stacked that year. I can't remember Jack Lemmon in Tribute at all, but the other nominees were pretty iconic- Robert Duvall in The Great Santini, Peter O'Toole in My Favorite Year, John Hurt in The Elephant Man and eventual winner Robert De Niro for Raging Bull. That's a Murderer's row!
It wasn't My Favorite Year; it was the Stunt Man. Tribute, from the director Porky's, is probably the obvious drop off, but I haven't seen that either. I do know that Ordinary People doesn't work without him, and he's exceptional.
Old 06-20-24 | 02:53 PM
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Re: RIP: Donald Sutherland - Dead at 88

Going to miss him and his whole Vibe. RIP.


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