Barry Newman, 'Vanishing Point' Actor, Dead at 92
Barry Newman, best known for starring in the action-thriller Vanishing Point, has died. He was 92.
Newman's wife, Angela, confirmed the news of Newman's death to The Hollywood Reporter on Sunday. The actor died of natural causes on May 11 at the NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
Newman had a number of smaller screen roles and performed on Broadway until he was cast in the 1971 car chase classic Vanishing Point, by director Richard C. Sarafian. He starred as a former race car driver named Kowalski who drives a Dodge Challenger across the US while avoiding cops and getting entangled in a deadly criminal conspiracy.
The film went on to be a cult classic and genre-defining epic that went on to be revered for its action set-pieces and proved to be influential on the next generation of blockbuster filmmakers.
Newman later went on to play defense lawyer Anthony J. Petrocelli in the NBC TV series Petrocelli, a small-screen adaptation of his 1970 film The Lawyer. The Emmy-winning series ran for two seasons, from 1974 to '76.
Additional notable film roles include his performance in Steven Soderbergh's 1999 crime drama The Limey, as well as Bowfinger, 40 Days and 40 Nights, Daylight and City on Fire, among others. He also had recurring roles in TV shows such as Nightingales, L.A. Law, NYPD Blue, The O.C., and Murder, She Wrote.
He is survived by his wife, Angela.
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