Walter Edward Cox (born March 29, 1948), known professionally as Bud Cort, is an American actor known for his unorthodox starring roles in

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and film producer, producer. He is considered an enduring figure from the New Hollywood era, known for directing subversive and sat ...

's '' Brewster McCloud'' (1970), for which he was nominated for a Golden Laurel Award, and

Hal Ashby William Hal Ashby (September 2, 1929 – December 27, 1988) was an Cinema of the United States, American film Film director, director and Film editing, editor. His work exemplified the countercultural attitude of the era. He directed wide-rangi ...

's '' Harold and Maude'' (1971), for which he was nominated for both a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

and a

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to f ...

. He also had supporting roles in films such as ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (an acronym for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richa ...

'' (1970), '' Electric Dreams'' (1984), ''

Heat In thermodynamics, heat is energy in transfer between a thermodynamic system and its surroundings by such mechanisms as thermal conduction, electromagnetic radiation, and friction, which are microscopic in nature, involving sub-atomic, ato ...

'' (1995), ''

Dogma Dogma, in its broadest sense, is any belief held definitively and without the possibility of reform. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, or Islam ...

'' (1999), '' Coyote Ugly'' (2000), ''

Pollock Pollock or pollack (pronounced ) is the common name used for either of the two species of North Atlantic ocean, marine fish in the genus ''Pollachius''. ''Pollachius pollachius'' is referred to as "pollock" in North America, Ireland and the Unit ...

'' (2000) and ''

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou ''The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou'' is a 2004 American adventure comedy-drama film written by Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach and directed by Anderson. It is Anderson's fourth feature-length film and was released in the United States on Decem ...

'' (2004). He also voiced

Toyman Toyman is the name of three supervillains and one adolescent superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, as an adversary for Superman. The most well-known incarnation of Toyman is Winslow Schott, a criminal who uses toy-based or to ...

over the course of various series in the

DC Animated Universe The DC Animated Universe (DCAU, also referred to as the Timmverse or Diniverse by fans) is a Shared universe, shared fictional universe based on DC Comics properties and media franchise produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It began with ''Batman ...

, including '' Superman: The Animated Series'', '' Static Shock'', and ''

Justice League Unlimited ''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is an American superhero animated series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation with DC Comics in season 3 and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Universe, and ...

''.

Career

Cort was discovered in a revue by director

, who subsequently cast him in two of his movies in 1970, ''

'' and '' Brewster McCloud''. In the latter, he played the title role. Cort went on to his best-known role as the suicide-obsessed Harold in '' Harold and Maude''. Though it was not particularly successful on release, it gained international cult status and is now considered an American classic, ranking Number 69 on the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

's 100 Best Romantic Comedies. In 1979, Cort nearly died in a car accident on the

Hollywood Freeway The Hollywood Freeway is one of the principal freeways of Los Angeles, California (the boundaries of which it does not leave) and one of the busiest in the United States. It is the principal route through the Cahuenga Pass, the primary shortc ...

where he collided with an abandoned car blocking a lane into which he was turning. He broke an arm and a leg and sustained a concussion and a fractured skull. His face was severely lacerated and his lower lip nearly severed. The accident resulted in plastic surgeries, substantial hospital bills, a lost court case, and the disruption of his career. He has since appeared in a number of film, stage and TV roles: '' Endgame'', '' Sledge Hammer!'', ''

The Chocolate War ''The Chocolate War'' is a 1974 young adult novel by American writer Robert Cormier. It was adapted into a film in 1988. Although it received mixed reviews at the time of its publication, some reviewers have argued it is one of the best young ad ...

'', '' The Big Empty'', '' Theodore Rex'', ''

'', '' But I'm a Cheerleader'', ''

'', ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

'', '' The Secret Diary of Sigmund Freud'' and ''

The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou ''The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou'' is a 2004 American adventure comedy-drama film written by Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach and directed by Anderson. It is Anderson's fourth feature-length film and was released in the United States on Decem ...

''. Cort's voice-over roles include Edgar the computer in the film '' Electric Dreams;''

over the course of various

series including '' Superman: The Animated Series'', '' Static Shock'', and ''

;'' and Josiah Wormwood in an episode of the earlier DCAU production '' Batman: The Animated Series''. He can also be heard as The King in the English-language version of the feature film ''

The Little Prince ''The Little Prince'' (, ) is a novella written and illustrated by French writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in English and French in the United States by Reynal & Hitchcock in April 1943 and was published po ...

'' (2015), which premiered at the

2015 Cannes Film Festival The 68th Cannes Film Festival took place from 13 to 24 May 2015. Coen brothers, Ethan and Joel Coen were the Co-Presidents of the Jury for the main competition, marking the first time that two people co-chaired the jury. Since the Coen brothers ...

and won the César Award for Best Animated Film in February 2016. It was made available to American audiences through

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

in 2016. Cort made a guest appearance on the November 8, 2007, episode of ''

Ugly Betty ''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from September 28, 2006, to April 14, 2010. It is based on the Colombian telenovela ''Yo soy Betty, la fea' ...

'' as the priest officiating at Wilhelmina Slater's wedding. In 2010, he guest-starred on ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Jeff Davis that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005. It follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral ...

'' in the episode "Mosley Lane" as the elderly pedophile Roger Roycewood. In 2012, Cort appeared as the artist Gleeko in the '' Eagleheart'' episode "Exit Wound the Gift Shop".

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cort, Bud 1948 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male comedians American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors American male voice actors Comedians from New York (state) Film directors from New York (state) Male actors from New York (state) People from Rye, New York Screenwriters from New York (state)