Veteran Character Actor Basil Hoffman Passes Away at 83

Prolific, veteran character actor Basil Hoffman has died. He was 83. Hoffman passed on September 17th. His death was announced TODAY by his longtime friend and personal manager Brad Lemack.

Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Hoffman made his way to New York City to pursue an acting career after graduating from Tulane University, in New Orleans, with a degree in economics. He studied acting and trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, in New York.

He began his career in commercials and in small roles in many New York-based productions before relocating to Los Angeles where he quickly began carving out a career as one of the most adaptable character actors in the business.

Among his over 200 credits in film, television and stage, Hoffman appeared in two Best Picture Academy Award-winning films, "Ordinary People" and "The Artist." He was directed by ten Oscar-winning directors, including Steven Spielberg (in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"), Robert Redford (in "Ordinary People" and "The Milagro Beanfield War"), Ron Howard (in "Night Shift") and Ethan and Joel Coen (in "Hail, Caesar!").

Hoffman worked with 14 Academy Award-winning actors, including Sophia Loren (in "Lady Liberty"), Gene Hackman and Liza Minnelli (in "Lady Luck"), Dustin Hoffman and Martin Balsam (in "All the President's Men" and "Comes a Horseman"), Jane Fonda (in "The Electric Horseman"), Christopher Walken (in "Communion"), Renee Zellweger (in "Down With Love") and J.K. Simmons (in "3 Geezers!").

His other credits include the films "My Favorite Year," "Rio, I Love You," "The Last Word," "Switch," "Ice Runner" and "Pontiac Moon," and regular roles in the television series "Square Pegs" and "Hill Street Blues."

Hoffman's last film role was as the lead in the feature "Lucky Louie," which is currently in post-production.

An in-demand coach and acting teacher, he also authored three popular books for actors, "Cold Reading and How to Be Good at It," "Acting and How to Be Good at It" and "Acting and How to Be Good at It: The Second Edition."