Oscar-nominated actor Michael Lerner died Saturday. He was 81 years old.
His nephew, Sam Lerner, who played the lead role “The Goldbergs”, announced his death in an Instagram post shared Sunday afternoon.
“We lost a legend last night. It’s hard to place into words how good my uncle Michael was and the way much he influenced me,” Sam wrote. “His stories have at all times inspired me and made me fall in love with acting. He was the coolest, most confident, talented guy and the indisputable fact that he was my blood will at all times make me feel special.”
Michael earned approx Oscar nomination in 1991 for the role of Jack Lipnick in the film “Barton Fink”. He had nearly 200 credits to his credit, including “Eight Men Out”, “Godzilla” and “X-Men: Days of Futures Past”, with three unreleased projects in the works.
“Anyone who knows him knows how crazy he was – in the best sense of the word. I’m lucky to have spent a lot time with him, and we’re all lucky to still have the ability to look at his work the rest of the time. “
Michael’s representatives didn’t immediately reply to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Sam, the son of actor Ken Lenner, ended his post by saying: “RIP Michael, enjoy unlimited Cuban cigars, comfortable chairs and an infinite movie marathon.”
Michael had three projects in development and was in post-production on Sallywood with Sally Kirkland, Jennifer Tilly and Eric Roberts.
He was also rumored to be working on “Edoardo the Last Goodbye” and was solid in “Fragments from Olympus: The Vision of Nikola Tesla” with Sean Young and Ed Begley Jr.
Michael was born and raised in Brooklyn and started acting in the Sixties at the American Conservatory Theatre, a non-profit theater company based in San Francisco, California, in accordance with IMDb.
He made his film debut in 1970 with “Alex in Wonderland”, after which he started to appear on television on “The Bob Newhart Show”, “Emergency!” and “M*A*S*H*”.
Lerner played White House Press Secretary Pierre Salinger in the 1974 ABC film The Missiles of October with William Devane.
He had roles in “The Rockford Files”, “Kojak”, “Barnaby Jones” and “Hart to Hart”.
After receiving an Oscar nomination for his role as studio head Jack Lipnick in Barton Fink, Lerner’s familiar face made it easy for viewers to identify him in Newsies, Blank Check and later as James Caan’s head of publisher in Elves.” “