(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Actor-writer-director Buck Henry, who co-wrote the screenplay for The Graduate and became a well-known comic presence in the 1970s by appearing on the original “Saturday Night Live,” has died at the age of 89, Deadline reports.
Henry suffered a heart attack and passed away at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, the website said.
Had he merely helped write The Graduate, a watershed 1967 movie about disillusionment among the nation’s youth, the New York native would be remembered. But Henry was a multi-talented hyphenate who also tried his hand, successfully, at acting and directing.
His major film directing credit was co-directing Heaven Can Wait with star Warren Beatty in 1978; it was nominated for several Oscars. He wrote the screenplay adaptation for 1995’s To Die For, a dark comedy that starred Nicole Kidman and Joaquin Phoenix. Henry also co-created the classic TV comedy “Get Smart” with Mel Brooks.
In the 1970s, Henry occasionally and deftly hosted “Saturday Night,” as SNL was originally known. A highlight was his appearances in the recurring “Samurai” skits. Henry delivered his lines in deadpan style while John Belushi played a maniacal, sword-wielding character.
