Veteran actor George Segal, who starred in films like A Touch of Class and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? as well as, most recently, ABC’s The Goldbergs, has died of complications from bypass surgery. He was 87.
Segal, a prolific and versatile actor whose career spanned six decades, garnered an Oscar nomination for 1966’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? as well as two Golden Globes for 1964’s The New Interns and 1973’s A Touch of Class. Though he rose to prominence for his comedic roles in films like 1970’s The Owl and the Pussycat and 1974’s California Split, Segal also took dramatic turns in the 1965 war drama King Rat in addition to television adaptations of plays like 1966’s Death of a Salesman and 1968’s Of Mice and Men. He was also a television-comedy warhorse, starring for seven seasons on the NBC sitcom Just Shoot Me! and eight seasons on The Goldbergs.
Adam Goldberg, showrunner of The Goldbergs, posted his respects on Twitter, writing, “Today we lost a legend. It was a true honor being a small part of George Segal’s amazing legacy. By pure fate, I ended up casting the perfect person to play Pops. Just like my grandfather, George was a kid at heart with a magical spark. I think these memories say it all,” along with pictures of Segal. Morgan Fairchild, who acted alongside Segal in 1984’s The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood, also tweeted a photo of him, writing “One of a kind and always a joy!” Segal is survived by his wife and two daughters.
