Entertainment
Stacy Keach, the gravel-voiced actor who played Mike Hammer, has died at 85
Stacy Keach, best known as TV private eye Mike Hammer, died Tuesday at his home in Poland after a long fight with heart disease. He was 85.
Stacy Keach has died. The actor behind TV detective Mike Hammer was 85.
He passed away Tuesday at the family's home in Magdalenka, Poland. His wife Malgosia Tomassi Keach said he died "after a long and difficult battle with a serious heart condition and heart failure."
"He was a true warrior, facing his illness with the same remarkable spirit and resilience that defined his life," she said in a statement.
From the stage to Mike Hammer
Keach first made his name in theater in the 1960s. He was later nominated for a Tony Award.
Movies came next. He played opposite Faye Dunaway in the Western "Doc" and won praise for the boxing drama "Fat City."
Television made him a household name. He played the tough private eye in "Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer" and later "The New Mike Hammer."
Younger fans knew him from "Titus" and "Prison Break." Over six decades he piled up more than 200 film and TV credits.
Ups and downs
His career hit a rough patch in 1984. He was arrested at a London airport with cocaine and spent several months in an English jail. He later spoke openly about addiction.
In 2017 he suffered a mild heart attack during a play in Chicago. He went back the next year to finish the run.
A Hollywood family
Acting ran in the family. His father, Stacy Keach Sr., was a well-known actor and his brother James Keach is an actor and filmmaker.
He married Malgosia in 1986. Survivors include her, his brother and his children Shannon and Karolina.
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