Actor Ned Beatty has died at the age of 83. He was most known for his appearances in the 1976 drama Network, the 1972 blockbuster Deliverance, and the 1978 picture Superman.
Beatty was one of the most popular actors in the 1970s, appearing in over 160 films.
His manager Deborah Miller confirmed that the actor died on Sunday at his Los Angeles home, surrounded by his family and loved ones. Beatty's family has decided to keep the specifics of his death private for the time being, according to a statement.
In a statement, his family stated, "Ned is an iconic, renowned artist, as well as a good friend, and he will be mourned by us all."
One of Beatty's most famous parts was in the 1972 picture Deliverance, in which he played an executive named Bobby Trippe who was humiliated and raped by two mountain men who forced him to undress at gunpoint.
The sequence is still referred regarded as a "film milestone" since it was so frightening at the time.
In the 1978 film Superman and the 1980 sequel Superman II, he played Lex Luthor's dumb henchman Otis, one of his most famous roles.
“You have meddled with the primal forces of nature, Mr. Beale, and I won't have it!” tweeted author and journalist Nick Milligan on Twitter, using Beatty's most famous monologue from Network.
“Ned Beatty was a chameleonic performer, from his courageous big-screen start in Deliverance to the clumsy Otis in Superman. One of the most memorable scenes in cinema is his monologue in Network. Period.”
He was nominated for an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain, and a Golden Globe Award, as well as winning a Drama Desk Award.
From 2010 through 2013, he played a variety of parts, beginning with the thriller The Killer Inside Me, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
In Toy Story 3, he voiced the primary antagonist Lots-O'Huggin' Bear. Beatty starred alongside Johnny Depp in the computer-animated thriller Rango in 2011, in which he played the antagonist.
Baggage Claim, his final feature before retiring, was released in 2013.
“Saddened to discover actor Ned Beatty passed away,” California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring tweeted on Twitter. I really admired him in his portrayal as Dean Martin, the college administrator in Back to School, one of the finest comedies of all time.”
