Veteran actor Kevin Conway, of Oz, Gettysburg, and more, dies at 77

Kevin Conway, a veteran stage and screen actor known for such films as Gettysburg, The Quick and the Dead, and Invincible, and for his recurring role on HBO’s Oz, died Wednesday of a heart attack, EW has confirmed. He was 77.

Born in New York City in 1942, Conway played his first major screen role in 1972’s Slaughterhouse-Five, based on Kurt Vonnegut’s acclaimed novel, as violent soldier Roland Weary. He went on to appear in numerous films and TV shows over a four-decade career, including a recurring role as abusive father Seamus O’Reily on the prison drama Oz. His other roles included Mark Wahlberg‘s onscreen father in the football drama Invincible, the fictional Sgt. Buster Kilrain in 1993’s Gettysburg and its 2003 companion film Gods and Generals, and the vicious Eugene Dred in Sam Raimi‘s The Quick and the Dead. On television, he guest-starred on The Good Wife, Law & Order, and Star Trek: The Next Generation, among other shows, and did voice-over work for several Ken Burns documentaries.

Conway also directed the 1990 independent film The Sun and the Moon, as well as several stage productions, earning a Drama Desk Award nomination in 1980 for directing Ted Whitehead’s play Mecca. He won a Drama Desk Award in 1974, for his performance in When You Comin’ Back, Red Ryder?, and was part of the original Broadway cast of The Elephant Man, playing surgeon Frederick Treves. Conway cited his performance as McMurphy in an Off-Broadway production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, however, as his personal favorite.

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