Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid actor Charles Dierkop dies at 87: Star also appeared in The Sting and was on TV's Police Woman
Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid actor Charles Dierkop has died aged 87.
He was also known for his roles in the movie The Sting and the TV show Police Woman.
The Hollywood veteran passed away on Sunday.
Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid actor Charles Dierkop has died aged 87
He died in the wake of a heart attack and a bout of pneumonia, his daughter Lynn has told The Hollywood Reporter.
The publication added Charles died at Sherman Oaks Hospital, California.
Born Charles Richard Dierkop in 1936 in La Crosse, Wisconsin, the actor also famously featured alongside Rod Steiger in 1964's The Pawnbroker.
And played a gangster in the 1967 mob movie The St. Valentine's Day Massacre.
Two years later, Charles landed the part of outlaw George 'Flat Nose' Curry in Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid.
The main stars of that hit Western movie were matinee idols of the day, Paul Newman and Robert Redford.
Here he is seen on the far right with Robert Redford and Paul Newman as well as Ted Cassidy and Dave Dunlap
The movie was a smash hit and made icons of Redford and Newman
They played the movie's titular gunslingers.
The 1969 film was based on a true story.
It was about train and bank robberies, a torrid love affair and a new lease on outlaw life in far away Bolivia.
It is also a character study of a remarkable friendship between Butch - possibly the most likeable outlaw in frontier history - and his closest associate, the fabled, ever-dangerous Sundance Kid.
Charles also worked alongside Newman in 1961's The Hustler and again on the 1973 con artist classic The Sting, in which Charles played bodyguard Floyd.
Recalling how he landed the part of 'Flat Nose', Charles – who broke his nose several times in fights as a youth – said in 2018: 'My agent was on a plane reading a script and it says, Flat Nose Curry… I think I have someone in mind.
Here he is seen in suit and hat to play a tough guy in 1973's The Sting, which also starred Redford and Newman
'So I got an interview with (The Sting director) George Roy Hill and got cast, quite simply.'
Charles also had a string of 1960s TV roles, in shows including Lost In Space, The Man From UNCLE, Star Trek (he played Morla in a 1967 episode), Batman, Adam-12, Ironside, The Andy Griffith Show and Daniel Boone.
In the 1970s he popped up on Love, American Style and Mission: Impossible as well as three episodes of Bonanza and three episodes of Gunsmoke.
He was also featured on 90 episodes of the hit crime show Police Woman starring Angie Dickinson.
He played Detective Pete Royston who wore a thick mustache and long hair.
Here Charles is seen far left with Ed Bernard, Angie Dickinson, Earl Holliman on Police Woman (1974 - 1978)
He played Detective Pete Royston, far right, in 90 episodes; seen in 1976
In the 1980s he showed up as a guest star on the TV shows Fantasy Island, TJ Hooker, The Fall Guy and Simon & Simon.
The 1990s saw him in the Mel Gibson movie Maverick and on the show ER.
He also made an appearance in R.E.M.'s 1992 music video for their Man on the Moon hit – with Charles seen in the promo sitting in a pub.
His first role was an uncredited part in 1961's Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea.
His last screen role was as a bank robber in the 2018 movie Heaven & Hell.
Charles was married to Joan Addis from 1958 until their divorce in 1974.
The couple – who met at the American Foundation of Dramatic Arts – had two children: son Charles Jr, who died in 1990 aged 29, and daughter Lynn.
