Lawrence Dane, a prolific Canadian actor best known for his appearances in the film Bride of Chucky and TV series Mission: Impossible, has died aged 84.
Dane died at home in Ontario on March 21 after a long battle with pancreatic , his publicist confirmed to.
Born Lawrence Joseph Zahab on April 3, 1927 into a Lebanese family in Quebec, the youngster took acting classes to overcome shyness before tackling his first TV roles in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
He found his way into screen parts after meeting film maker FR Crawley in 1958, who hired him as an extra and stand-in on the Canadian police show R.C.M.P.
Numerous gigs followed, with Dane often returning to the same shows in different parts, such as Festival, The Felony Squad, The FBI and Mission: Impossible.
In 1980, he was nominated for a Genie Award for actor in a supporting role for Running, which tells the story of American marathon runner Michael Andropolis, played by .
One of his most memorable roles came in 1998’s horror-comedy Bride of Chucky — which also featured Grey’s Anatomy star Katherine Heigl — where he played ill-fated private investigator Lt. Preston, but he also appeared as Michael Ironside’s evil business partner in David Cronenberg’s Scanners in 1981.
As a performer, Dane often switched between thrillers and comedy, appearing in 1976’s Find the Lady, opposite a then-unknown John Candy, and National Lampoon’s Senior Trip in 1995 with a young .
The performer also turned his hand to writing and directing with 1984’s Heavenly Bodies, which told the story of a small ‘dancercize’ studio fighting for its existence against the unscrupulous owner of a rival club.
He produced a few projects as well, including The Rowdyman in 1972, 1974’s Only God Knows, and slasher film The Rituals, in which he co-starred with Hal Holbrook.
Later TV roles saw him pop up in Side Effects, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Tales from the Cryptkeeper and La Femme Nikita.
Dane’s final acting role was in 2017’s Undercover Grandpa, opposite The Godfather star James Caan in the titular role and Jessica Walter.
He is survived by his wife Laurel and extended family.
