Walter Edward Cox, known professionally as Bud Cort, is an American actor and comedian, known for his portrayals of Harold in Hal Ashby's film ''

Harold and Maude ''Harold and Maude'' is a 1971 American romantic black comedy–drama film directed by Hal Ashby and released by Paramount Pictures. It incorporates elements of dark humor and existentialist drama. The plot follows the exploits of Harold Chas ...

'' (1971) and the eponymous hero in

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a five-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director and is considered an enduring figure from the New ...

's film '' Brewster McCloud'' (1970).

Career

Cort was discovered in a revue by director

, who subsequently cast him in two of his movies, ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. T ...

'' and '' Brewster McCloud'', in which he played the title role. Cort went on to his best-known role as the suicide-obsessed Harold in ''

''. Though it was not particularly successful on release, it gained international cult status and is now considered an American classic. In 1979, Cort nearly died in a car accident on the

Hollywood Freeway The Hollywood Freeway is one of the principal freeways of Los Angeles, California (the boundaries of which it does not leave) and one of the busiest in the United States. It is the principal route through the Cahuenga Pass, the primary shortcu ...

where he collided with an abandoned car blocking a lane into which he was turning. He broke an arm and a leg and sustained a concussion and a fractured skull. His face was severely lacerated and his lower lip nearly severed. The accident resulted in plastic surgeries, substantial hospital bills, a lost court case, and the disruption of his career. He has since appeared in a number of film, stage and TV roles: '' Endgame'', '' Sledge Hammer!'', '' The Chocolate War'', '' The Big Empty'', '' Theodore Rex'', ''

Dogma Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam ...

'', '' But I'm A Cheerleader'', '' Pollock'', ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...

'', '' The Secret Diary of Sigmund Freud'' and '' The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou''. Cort's voice-over roles include Edgar the computer in the movie '' Electric Dreams;'' Toyman, a

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...

villain, over the course of various DCAU series including '' Superman: The Animated Series'', '' Static Shock'', and ''

Justice League Unlimited ''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is a 2004–2006 American superhero animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics univers ...

;'' and Josiah Wormwood in an episode of the earlier DCAU production '' Batman: The Animated Series''. He can also be heard as The King in the English-language version of the feature film ''

The Little Prince ''The Little Prince'' (french: Le Petit Prince, ) is a novella by French aristocrat, writer, and military pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in English and French in the United States by Reynal & Hitchcock in April 1943 an ...

'' (2015), which premiered out of competition at the

2015 Cannes Film Festival The 68th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 May 2015. Joel and Ethan Coen were the Presidents of the Jury for the main competition. It was the first time that two people chaired the jury. Since the Coen brothers each received a separate ...

and won the César Award for Best Animated Film in February 2016. It was made available to U.S. audiences through

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

in 2016. Cort made a guest appearance on the November 8, 2007 episode of ''

Ugly Betty ''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which was originally broadcast on ABC. It premiered on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombi ...

'' as the priest officiating at Wilhelmina Slater's ill-fated wedding. In 2010, he guest-starred on ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis (writer), Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was r ...

'' in the episode "Mosley Lane", playing elderly pedophile Roger Roycewood who, along with his wife, kidnapped and killed young children. In 2012, he appeared as the artist "Gleeko" in the "Exit Wound the Gift Shop" episode of the second season of '' Eagleheart''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cort, Bud Living people 1950 births 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male stage actors American male voice actors Film directors from New York (state) Male actors from New York (state) People from Rye, New York Screenwriters from New York (state)