George Grizzard, 79; actor linked to Albee plays

NEW YORK - Broadway and screen actor George Grizzard, who won acclaim and a Tony Award for performing in Edward Albee's dramas, died Tuesday at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center of complications from lung cancer. He was 79.

Mr. Grizzard's film roles included a bullying senator in "Advise and Consent" in 1962 and an oilman in "Comes a Horseman" in 1978. On television, he made regular appearances on "Law & Order" and won a best supporting actor Emmy for the 1980 TV movie "The Oldest Living Graduate," which starred Henry Fonda. He was nominated for an Emmy Award for his performance as John Adams in "The Adams Chronicles," a 13-part historical saga on PBS in 1976. His TV credits stretch back to the '50s, when he appeared in various anthology series such as "Playhouse 90."

He considered himself, however, primarily a stage actor.

He had made his Broadway debut in 1955 as Paul Newman's brother and fellow convict in "The Desperate Hours." He was nominated for Tonys for "The Disenchanted" in 1959 and "Big Fish, Little Fish" in 1961.

"When we were on the stage together, he was the best thing around," Newman said.

Among his other credits were Neil Simon's 1976 "California Suite" and the 2001 drama "Judgment at Nuremberg."

Working with Albee, Mr. Grizzard appeared in the original 1962 production of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and won a Tony more than 30 years later in 1996 for his performance in a revival of a 1967 play, "A Delicate Balance."

In "A Delicate Balance," a wealthy suburban couple have their home invaded by two frightened friends, who never say what they are afraid of. Mr. Grizzard played the husband, Tobias.

"Grizzard, as Tobias, personifies the ineffectual peacemaker, a man with a good heart who learns that even charity is not enough," Associated Press drama critic Michael Kuchwara wrote.

"Grizzard rises to the play's shattering climax, in which his idea of friendship is shattered."

In a 1996 interview, Mr. Grizzard said he drew on his own fears as an actor to play the role. "Fear is a universal motivator. . . . I think the only time I really get mean or angry or contentious is when I'm frightened."

"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," a searing portrait of marital strife, caused a sensation when it opened in 1962. Mr. Grizzard played Nick, the young husband who, along with his wife, is victimized by the older warring couple, George and Martha. (George Segal played Nick in Mike Nichols's acclaimed 1966 film version.)

During rehearsals, Mr. Grizzard didn't realize the play was going to be such a big hit, he recalled in 1996.

"Then it was like wildfire - the reaction from people and the crowds clamoring to get in. It was startling. 'Virginia Woolf' was such a brilliant play on so many levels."

Mr. Grizzard spoke of the difficulty of enduring the role of Nick in the play night after night. "That's the guy Edward wanted destroyed, and he did a pretty good job of doing just that," he said. "And the audience, every time George and Martha stuck another knife in, they laughed and clapped."

Mr. Grizzard stayed with "Virginia Woolf" for only three months, leaving to play Hamlet in the inaugural production of the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis in 1963. He also played other career-stretching roles there over the years, in such plays as "Henry V," "The Three Sisters," "Volpone," and "Saint Joan."

Born in Roanoke Rapids, N.C., Mr. Grizzard grew up largely in Washington. He attended the University of North Carolina and worked at an ad agency before getting involved in the theater.

He leaves his partner, William Tynan.