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Jack Kehler, an actor who starred in The Big Lebowski and The Man in the High Castle, has died. He was 75. Kehler had been battling leukemia at the time of his death, and died Saturday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles of complications caused by the disease, his son confirmed to Variety.
Kehler was a character actor known for his roles in both film and television, with a career that began in theater when he was 24, and went on to span decades. Kehler, who was born in Philadelphia in 1946, studied with Sanford Meisner and Wynn Handman; he also became a member of the Actors Studio.
His very first screen credit — as a gas station attendant in 1983’s Strange Invaders — came after Kehler moved to Los Angeles. In the later half of the decade, Kehler booked multiple TV roles, with appearances on Fresno, Hunter, Cagney & Lacey, St. Elsewhere and Newhart.
While Kehler was a fixture on the small screen, he also appeared in numerous films in his career, with parts in I Love You to Death, In the Cold of the Night, The Last Boy Scout, Grand Canyon, White Sands, Cops and Robbersons and Waterworld. His role as the Dude’s landlord in The Big Lebowski is one of his most celebrated parts, despite his short appearance in the Coen Brothers’ film.
In later years, Kehler continued to act, appearing in Fever Pitch, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Monk, Mad Men and The Sound and the Fury. In Amazon Prime Video’s World War II drama The Man in the High Castle, Kehler starred as Harlan Wyndam-Matson.
Kehler’s final roles include parts in The Magicians and Love, Victor. He is also set to appear posthumously in his final role as Ben Malton in the thriller The Platinum Loop.
He is survived by his son Eddie, as well as his wife Shawna Casey, daughter-in-law Mari-Anne and grandson Liam.
