‘Ozark’ and ‘Scarface’ Legend Dies of Heart Attack: Harris Yulin Was 87

Harris Yulin, the Los Angeles born actor known for his hundred-plus major roles on stage and screen, has died. He was 87.

He died yesterday in New York City of cardiac arrest, according to his family and his manager Sue Leibman.

His Broadway debut came in 1980 when he starred in Watch on the Rhine. Plenty more stage appearances followed, like The Diary of Anne Frank, The Visit, The Price, and his final Broadway appearance in 2001’s Hedda Gabler.

On the big screen, he was known for playing starring or supporting roles in several major hit films, like Scarface, Ghostbusters II, Rush Hour II, Clear and Present Danger, Training Day, and The Place Beyond the Pines.

He was Emmy-nominated for his role in Frasier in 1996, where he played Jerome Belasco.

He appeared in several of the biggest shows of the last 50 years, including Kojak, Little House on the Prairie, S.W.A.T., Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Law & Order, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files, 24, Entourage, The Blacklist, Veep, Billions, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and many more.

His most prominent role of the last decade was in Netflix’s Ozark, where he had a major role in the first two seasons as Buddy Dieker, the downstairs neighbor of the Byrde family.

He was gearing up to star in the new series American Classic, which will star Kevin Kline and Laura Linney and be directed by Michael Hoffman. The series was set to start filming this week. Hoffman gave a statement on Yulin’s death to Deadline.

“Harris Yulin was very simply one of the greatest artists I have ever encountered,” Hoffman said. “His marriage of immense technique with an always fresh sense of discovery, gave his work an immediacy and vitality and purity I’ve experienced nowhere else. And what he was as an actor, he was as a man, the grace, the humility, the generosity. All of us at American Classic have been blessed by our experience with him. He will always remain the beating heart of our show.”