Mike Nussbaum, a veteran stage actor and staple of the local theater scene in Chicago who also appeared in such films as “Field of Dreams,” “Fatal Attraction” and “Men in Black,” has died. He was 99.
Nussbaum, whose death on Saturday at his home was reported by multiple Chicago outlets, including the Sun-Times, would have turned 100 next Saturday.
“It’s the end of an era, the end of the Chicago school of acting,” B.J. Jones, longtime friend and colleague of Nussbaum’s and the artistic director of the city’s Northlight Theatre, told the Sun-Times just days after their last meeting. “He said he was bored. Hilarious. But he was ready to go.”
Nussbaum’s influence and range was also felt on Broadway, a stint during which he appeared in an award-winning role in “Glengarry Glen Ross,” in 1984 (he won the New York Drama Desk Award). Nussbaum, who also acted at one point in England’s Royal Shakespeare Company, was also the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the League of Chicago Theaters.
Nussbaum’s Hollywood acting credits include more than 40 movie and TV roles, including an episode of “Frasier” (1995) and “L.A. Law” (1990).
He is survived by his wife, Julie Nussbaum, his son Jack and his daughter Karen. His first wife, Annette Brenner, and their daughter Susan, preceded him in death.
