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Brad Sullivan (November 18, 1931–December 31, 2008) was an American actor known for character roles in television and on film and stage. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Bradford E. Sullivan served in the Korean War and then attended the University of Maine. After touring with a stage company, he moved to New York City and studied at the American Theatre Wing. He made his Off-Broadway debut in Red Roses for Me in 1961, and went on to appear in the London, England company of the musical South Pacific. In the 1960s and early 1970s, he appeared in two productions of the New York Shakespeare Festival — Coriolanus at Central Park`s Delacorte Theatre (1965), and Vaclav Havel`s The Memorandum — and the David Newbburge-Jacques Urbont musical Stag Party (1971). In 1972, he made his movie debut in the military drama Parades (1972; re-released as The Line, 1980). This was followed by an appearance in a CBS TV-movie adaptation of David Rabe Sticks and Bones, a black comedy about a Vietnam War veteran. The subject matter proved so controversial that half the network`s affiliates refused to broadcast the telefilm.
Sullivan was then featured prominently in director George Roy Hill`s hit The Sting (1973), playing Cole, the hired killer who dogs the Robert Redford and Paul Newman characters. Following roles in the acclaimed telefilm The Migrants (1974) and other productions, Sullivan reteamed with star Newman and director Hill for Slap Shot, a hit comedy about a down-and-out hockey team. In a departure from the stoic, taciturn parts in which he was often cast, Sullivan played a spectacularly vulgar hockey player, Morris "Mo" Wanchuk. He followed this with his Broadway debut, playing three different military officers in a revival of David Rabe`s The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel (April-September 1977), starring Al Pacino. The following year, Sullivan earned a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance as steelworker Mike LeFevre in Working (May-June 1978), adapted from the book by Studs Terkel and also starring Patti LuPone and Joe Mantegna. Sullivan`s other feature film credits include The Island (1980); Ghost Story (1981); Barry Levinson`s Tin Men (1987); Brian De Palma`s The Untouchables (1987); the comedy Funny Farm (1988); James Cameron`s The Abyss (1989); True Colors (1991), Barbra Streisand`s The Prince of Tides (1991); Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993); Michael Ritchie`s The Fantasticks (made 1995, released 2000), based on the Tom Jones-Harvey Schmidt musical; Michael Moore`s fiction feature, Canadian Bacon (1995); and the comedy Bushwhacked (1995). Sullivan retired in 2000. He lived on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He died December 31, 2008 of liver cancer.
Biography Credit: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Sullivan
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