Feb 12, 2026, 12:11 p.mFeb 12, 2026, 12:11 p.m
US actor Bud Cort, who became famous in the cult film “Harold and Maude”, is dead.
Bud Cort became famous through the film “Harold and Maude”.Image: IMAGO / Lindenthaler
Cort died on Wednesday in Norwalk, Connecticut, as Dorian Hannaway, a TV producer and good acquaintance of the actor, confirmed to the German Press Agency (dpa). According to them, Cort had been ill for some time. According to media reports, he was 77 years old.
According to the industry magazine Variety, Cort was born Walter Edward Cox in Rye, New York. He changed his name to avoid confusion with the actor Wally Cox. After moving to Los Angeles, Cort was cast by director Robert Altman, in whose comedy series “MASH” he played a supporting role, as it was said. In 1970 he took on a leading role for the first time in “Only Flying is More Beautiful” under Altman’s direction.
“Harold and Maude” first a box office flop, then a cult film
In 1971, Cort played the young man Harold in the black comedy “Harold and Maude”, who is obsessed with death, befriends the 79-year-old Holocaust survivor Maude (Ruth Gordon) and learns from her how to live. He was nominated for Best Actor at the Golden Globes.
The film flopped at the box office, but it nevertheless developed into a cult classic over the course of the 1970s – the story was particularly well received among students in the post-hippie era, reported the New York Times.
Despite the decades-long popularity of “Harold and Maude,” Cort missed his big breakthrough. In 1979, he was seriously injured in a car accident, which, according to Variety, also affected his career. In front of the camera he mainly took on supporting roles. In “Heat” (1995) he starred alongside Al Pacino and Robert De Niro; In Wes Anderson’s “The Deep Sea Divers” (2004) he played an insurance agent alongside Bill Murray, Owen Wilson and Cate Blanchett. (hkl/sda/dpa)