The prolific actor died Wednesday of Mesothelioma, publicist Edward Lozzi told The Hollywood Reporter. 

Ed Lauter Nov. 2012

Lauter had an extensive film resume, which included hits like King Kong (1976),  Cujo (1983), Seabiscuit (2003), and The Artist (2011). He has acted under Hitchcock’s direction and opposite Clint Eastwood.

Lauter found out he had Mesothelioma in May. The cancer is most commonly caused by exposure to asbestos. He was in many television series, including recurring roles on ER as Fire Captain Dannaker, on USA’s Psych and on the Showtime drama Shameless.

In the 2003 interview, Lauter recalled: “Someone once said to me, ‘Eddie, you’re a ‘turn’ actor.’ What’s that? He said, ‘That’s when a story is going along and your character shows up and the story suddenly takes a major turn.’ That’s kind of neat.” His ‘turn’ rolls can be seen with parts in Cannon, Ironside, The Streets of San Francisco, Kojak, Baretta, Police Story, The Rockford Files, Charlie’s Angels, Hawaii Five-0, Simon & Simon, Magnum, P.I., The A-Team, Miami Vice, Walker, Texas Ranger, Homicide: Life on the Street, NYPD Blue, Cold Case and CSI.

He has three movies in the can yet to be released: The Town That Dreaded Sundown, Becker’s Farm and The Grave.