Stacy Keach, whose career ranged from Shakespeare onstage to television detective Mike Hammer and the boxing drama Fat City, has died at 85. His wife confirmed that he died at home in Poland following serious heart disease. His final film role was in Jay Kelly; his work also brought Tony and Emmy nominations.
American actor Stacy Keach died on November 10 at the family home in Magdalenka, Poland. He was 85. His wife, Małgosia Tomassi, said he had suffered a serious heart condition and heart failure. His career continued into his eighties: in the 2025 film Jay Kelly, his final role, he played the father of George Clooney’s character. Keach also appeared in Nebraska and The Bourne Legacy.[1], [2]
In John Huston’s 1972 boxing drama Fat City, Keach played a fighter trying to regain his former standing, opposite Jeff Bridges as a younger boxer. Television later made him widely familiar as the private detective Mike Hammer. The CBS series ran from 1984 to 1987, and he returned to the role in a 1989 television film and a syndicated series in 1997–1998. He also narrated American Greed and supplied a recurring voice on The Simpsons.[1]
Keach made his Broadway debut in Danton’s Death in 1965. His portrayal of Buffalo Bill in the 1969 production Indians brought a Tony nomination, while Ernest Hemingway brought an Emmy nomination in 1988. His stage repertoire included Hamlet, Long Day’s Journey Into Night and Deathtrap. A King Lear performance with Shakespeare Theatre Company earned a Helen Hayes award in 2010. He helped found L.A. Theatre Works and studied at Berkeley, Yale School of Drama and, on a Fulbright scholarship, in London.[1]
