Cliff Emmich Dies at 85 Due to Lung Cancer; Actor Was Best Known for Little House on the Prairie, Starsky and Hutch and More
Cliff Emmich has died at the age of 85 after his battle with lung cancer. He was known and adored for his roles in Little House on the Prairie, Payday, Murder, She Wrote and more.
Little House on the Prairie and Payday actor Cliff Emmich passed away at the age of 85 after he lost his battle with lung cancer. The news of his demise was confirmed by Emmich's representative to Fox News, a US-based news outlet. "My client and friend for over fifty years lost his battle with lung cancer... He passed at his home in Valley Village on Monday," his rep said in a statement quoted in a report by Fox News. Brad William Henke Dies at 56: The Actor Was Known for His Roles in Dexter, Orange Is the New Black, Justified and More.
The jovial actor was raised in Los Angeles, California, and was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1936. He was given the name Clifford after his father, a well-known exotic automobile dealer who catered to celebrities like Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, and Ozzie Nelson. He joined the Air Force as a photo technician after graduating from John Muir High School in 1955 with his class.
Emmich next attended classes at the Pasadena Playhouse before touring the nation with the American Repertory Players.
He spent the summer giving performances at Jackson Hole, Wyoming's Pink Garter Theatre. According to Fox News, throughout his career, the actor appeared in more than 90 movies and TV shows, making his screen debut in 1969's Gaily, Gaily. He was best remembered for playing Chicago in the 1973 movie Payday, which featured Rip Torn's honky tonk singer Maury Dann riding in the backseat of a Cadillac automobile.
Alongside co-stars Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges, Emmich went on to play a Western Union security guard in the 1974 movie Thunderbolt and Lightfoot.
In Halloween II in 1981, Emmich kept the security guard job he had previously played. In the two-part 'Fonzie's Funeral' episode of Happy Days from 1979, he also had the role of The Candy Man, a forger. Die Hard Star Clarence Gilyard Jr Dies at 66; Actor Was Also Best Known for Walker, Texas Ranger.
As per a report by Fox News, Michael Landon created a part, especially for Emmich for the fifth season of Little House on the Prairie. In the episode The Man Inside, he portrayed a middle-aged guy who was shy and embarrassed and whose daughter despised him. He apparently considered it to be one of his favourite parts. In addition to these, the adored actor starred in Barracuda, Starsky and Hutch, Murder, She Wrote, and Walker, Texas Ranger.