Bud Cort, the unforgettable Harold in Harold and Maude, has died at 77 following a long illness. He passed away on Wednesday in Connecticut. His longtime friend Dorian Hannaway confirmed the news. The cause of death has been reported as pneumonia.
For generations of movie lovers, Cort’s performance as the morbid, death-obsessed young man transformed by an eccentric 79-year-old woman became the emotional core of one of cinema’s most enduring cult classics.
Directed by Hal Ashby and written by Colin Higgins, Harold and Maude initially struggled at the box office upon its 1971 release. Over time, however, it found its audience and became a repertory staple. Cort’s chemistry with co-star Ruth Gordon, who played the life-embracing Maude, helped turn the film into a generational touchstone. Cort earned a BAFTA nomination as Most Promising Newcomer and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for the role.
Born Walter Edward Cox in Rye, New York, Cort changed his name to avoid confusion with actor Wally Cox. He attended school in New Rochelle and developed an early love for Broadway. He eventually moved to Los Angeles, where he caught the attention of Robert Altman, who cast him in a small role in MASH before giving him the lead in the quirky 1970 film Brewster McCloud, opposite Sally Kellerman.
Cort went on to build a varied career across film and television, appearing in projects such as The Rules of Attraction, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Heat, Dogma, Coyote Ugly and Pollock. He also lent his voice to the character Toyman in Superman: The Animated Series, Static Shock and Justice League Unlimited.
In 1991, Cort co-wrote, directed and starred in Ted and Venus. His career was significantly impacted after he narrowly survived a devastating car accident in 1979 that required multiple surgeries.
Reflecting on Harold and Maude, filmmaker Cameron Crowe once described it for AFI, “A young man obsessed with death falls in love with an old woman obsessed with life. She dies and teaches the kid how to live. And it’s done with music [by Cat Stevens] that scratches at your soul… that movie holds up — to this minute.”
Cort is survived by his siblings and extended family. A memorial service will be held at a later date in Los Angeles.
For anyone who ever watched Harold drive that hearse, stage another fake suicide or slowly learn how to live, Bud Cort’s singular performance remains timeless.
Rest in Peace, Bud.
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