James Gammon, a character actor whose gravelly voice and craggy face made indelible memories in Sam Shepard plays, a spate of western TV shows and films, plus a comic turn in the baseball movie "Major League," has died. He was 70.
Gammon died Friday surrounded by his family at his daughter's home in Costa Mesa, where he and his wife, Nancy, had been living. He had cancer of the adrenal glands and the liver.
Gammon may be best known for his role as Lou Brown, manager of the hapless Cleveland Indians in the 1989 comedy "Major League" and its 1994 sequel. He stood out with key roles in many films including "Urban Cowboy," "The Milagro Beanfield War," "Leaving Normal," "Ironweed," "Silverado" and "Cold Mountain."
