David Huddleston, a character actor who already had a vast list of credits to his name when, late in his career, he took what was to become his most famous role as the title character in “The Big Lebowski,” died Aug. 2 in Santa Fe, N.M. He was 85.
A longtime favorite NBC character actor, Mr. Huddleston specialized in big, blustery characters. Such was the title character he played in 1998’s “The Big Lebowski,” directed by Joel and Ethan Coen.
A 1990s sendup of a 1940s film-noir mystery, “The Big Lebowski” traces a Raymond Chandler-esque plotline, but in place of a hard-bitten investigator, it stars a stoner layabout played by Jeff Bridges. Mr. Huddleston, known for the line “Strong men also cry,” appeared in only a few scenes, but they are among the most memorable in the film.
Throughout his career, he played comic parts with an air of being in on the joke, a device served to deflate the very grandiosity he projected.
David William Huddleston was born Sept. 17, 1930, in Vinton, Va., near Roanoke. He grew up in Villamont, Va., where he often performed in community productions.
After serving as an aircraft engine mechanic in the Air Force, he attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, where he studied acting on the G.I. Bill.
His acting career spanned more than half a century and included Broadway, television and commercial parts. In addition to playing guest roles on numerous TV dramas, Mr. Huddleston appeared in the 2005 film “The Producers” and in 1974’s “Blazing Saddles” and starred in “Santa Claus: The Movie” (1985). He told the Roanoke Times that “Blazing Saddles,” directed by Mel Brooks, was “probably the most fun I have ever had on a set.”
His wife was his casting agent for “Santa Claus: The Movie.”
“Things were not important to him — people were,” she said. “He loved entertaining and would rather sit down and talk with someone over dinner.”
Mr. Huddleston “had thousands of cookbooks, and he loved reading them because they told him about the history of people and locations,” Koeppe said.
Mr. Huddleston was nominated for a Drama Desk award in a 1984 Broadway revival of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman,” which starred Dustin Hoffman.
The acting role he loved the most, Koeppe said, was playing Benjamin Franklin in the 1997 Broadway production “1776.”
The role “brought together all of his interests,” which included government and politics, she said. Five years after the Broadway production of “1776,” Mr. Huddleston performed as Franklin at the Ford’s Theatre in Washington.
His wife recounted being stopped by fans on the street in Turkey.
“They recognized him as the Big Lebowski even though they couldn’t speak any English, she recalled.
Mr. Huddleston was married three times. In addition to his wife, survivors include a son from his first marriage.
Read more Washington Post obituaries