Kevin Conway Dies: ‘Gettysburg’, ‘Thirteen Days’ and ‘Invincible’ Actor Was 77
He was not on the list.
Kevin Conway, a veteran actor known for his work in
Gettysburg, Thirteen Days and Invincible, among others, died Wednesday of a
heart attack, his publicist told Deadline. He was 77.
New York City-born Conway worked as an IBM sales analyst
before becoming an actor at age 24. He went on to a decades-long career with
dozens of credits in film, television and on the stage. His first major screen
role was playing Roland Weary in the 1972 film Slaughterhouse Five, based on
the Kurt Vonnegut novel. He went on to play Crum Petree, the insane mailman in
the 1988 film Funny Farm; Frank Papale in the 2006 Disney football drama
Invincible; and General Curtis LeMay in the 2000 historical drama Thirteen
Days. He also played the fictional Sgt. Buster Kilrain in Ron Maxwell’s 1993
epic Gettysburg (see photo above) and its 2003 follow-up Gods and Generals.
His television work included playing Roger Chillingworth in
a 1979 TV production of The Scarlet Letter, a role later played by Robert
Duvall in 1995’s The Scarlet Letter. Conway also had a memorable guest-starring
role on NBC’s Homicide: Life on the Street. In the 1995 episode titled
“Heartbeat,” he played Joseph Cardero, the prime suspect in a cold-case murder
who is obsessed with Edgar Allan Poe. Cardero ultimately meets his end in the
same manner his victim did – and with a chilling nod to Poe’s The Tell-Tale
Heart.
Conway’s stage credits include a 1974 Drama Desk-winning Off
Broadway performance in When You Comin’ Back, Red Ryder? and a 1970 Broadway
debut in the play Indians starring Stacy Keach and Raul Julia. In 1975 he
played George opposite James Earl Jones’ Lennie in Of Mice and Men, and in 1979
starred opposite Philip Anglim in the acclaimed The Elephant Man. His last
Broadway credit was 2002’s Dinner at Eight opposite Joanne Camp, John Dossett,
Marian Seldes and Christine Ebersole.
As a director, Conway helmed the 1987 independent film The
Sun and the Moon.
His numerous other TV credits include the Control Voice for
The Outer Limits revival series from 1995-2002. He guest-starred on Star Trek:
The Next Generation as the clone of the legendary Klingon figure Kahless, as
well as on The Good Wife, JAG, Law & Order, In the Heat of the Night and
The Black Donnellys. Conway also recurred on HBO’s prison drama Oz as Seamus
O’Reilly, the abusive father of Irish gang inmates Ryan and Cyril O’Reilly.
Filmography
Slaughterhouse-Five (1972) as Roland Weary
Portnoy's
Complaint (1972) as Smolka
F.I.S.T. (1978) as
Vince Doyle
Paradise Alley
(1978) as Stitch
The Scarlet Letter
(1979, TV Mini-Series) as Roger Chillingworth
The Lathe of
Heaven (1980) as Dr. Wiliam Haber
The Funhouse
(1981) as Conrad Straker the Funhouse Barker
The Elephant Man (1982, TV Movie) as Frederick
Treves
Flashpoint (1984)
as Brook
Funny Farm (1988)
as Crum Petree, the Mailman (uncredited)
Homeboy (1988) as
Grazziano
One Good Cop
(1991) as Lieutenant Danny Quinn
Jennifer 8 (1992)
as Chief Citrine
Gettysburg (1993)
as Sgt. Buster Kilrain
Streets of Laredo
(1995, TV Mini-Series) as Mox Mox
The Quick and the
Dead (1995) as Eugene Dred
The Outer Limits
(1995-2002, TV Series) as the control voice
Lawnmower Man 2:
Beyond Cyberspace (1996) as Jonathan Walker
Looking for
Richard (1996) as William Hastings
Mercury Rising
(1998) as Joe Lomax
Two Family House
(2000) as Jim O'Neary
Thirteen Days
(2000) as Gen. Curtis LeMay
Black Knight
(2001) as King Leo
Mark Twain (2001, Documentary) as the voice of
Mark Twain
Gods and Generals
(2003) as Sgt. Buster Kilrain
Mystic River
(2003) as Theo (uncredited)
Unforgivable
Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (2005, Documentary) as the voice
of Jack London
Invincible (2006)
as Frank Papale
The Bronx Is
Burning (2007) as Gabe Paul
The National
Parks: America's Best Idea (2009) as the voice of various historical figures
The Dust Bowl
(2012) as the voice of Ernie Pyle
Is That a Gun in
Your Pocket? (2016) as Cyrus
Who Killed Jane
Doe? (2017-2018, TV Series) as the Narrator
Kevin Conway, a veteran actor known for his work in Gettysburg, Thirteen Days and Invincible, among others, died Wednesday of a heart attack, his publicist told Deadline. He was 77.
New York City-born Conway worked as an IBM sales analyst before becoming an actor at age 24. He went on to a decades-long career with dozens of credits in film, television and on the stage. His first major screen role was playing Roland Weary in the 1972 film Slaughterhouse Five, based on the Kurt Vonnegut novel. He went on to play Crum Petree, the insane mailman in the 1988 film Funny Farm; Frank Papale in the 2006 Disney football drama Invincible; and General Curtis LeMay in the 2000 historical drama Thirteen Days. He also played the fictional Sgt. Buster Kilrain in Ron Maxwell’s 1993 epic Gettysburg (see photo above) and its 2003 follow-up Gods and Generals.
His television work included playing Roger Chillingworth in a 1979 TV production of The Scarlet Letter, a role later played by Robert Duvall in 1995’s The Scarlet Letter. Conway also had a memorable guest-starring role on NBC’s Homicide: Life on the Street. In the 1995 episode titled “Heartbeat,” he played Joseph Cardero, the prime suspect in a cold-case murder who is obsessed with Edgar Allan Poe. Cardero ultimately meets his end in the same manner his victim did – and with a chilling nod to Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart.
Conway’s stage credits include a 1974 Drama Desk-winning Off Broadway performance in When You Comin’ Back, Red Ryder? and a 1970 Broadway debut in the play Indians starring Stacy Keach and Raul Julia. In 1975 he played George opposite James Earl Jones’ Lennie in Of Mice and Men, and in 1979 starred opposite Philip Anglim in the acclaimed The Elephant Man. His last Broadway credit was 2002’s Dinner at Eight opposite Joanne Camp, John Dossett, Marian Seldes and Christine Ebersole.
As a director, Conway helmed the 1987 independent film The Sun and the Moon.
His numerous other TV credits include the Control Voice for The Outer Limits revival series from 1995-2002. He guest-starred on Star Trek: The Next Generation as the clone of the legendary Klingon figure Kahless, as well as on The Good Wife, JAG, Law & Order, In the Heat of the Night and The Black Donnellys. Conway also recurred on HBO’s prison drama Oz as Seamus O’Reilly, the abusive father of Irish gang inmates Ryan and Cyril O’Reilly.
Filmography
Slaughterhouse-Five (1972) as Roland Weary
Portnoy's Complaint (1972) as Smolka
F.I.S.T. (1978) as Vince Doyle
Paradise Alley (1978) as Stitch
The Scarlet Letter (1979, TV Mini-Series) as Roger Chillingworth
The Lathe of Heaven (1980) as Dr. Wiliam Haber
The Funhouse (1981) as Conrad Straker the Funhouse Barker
The Elephant Man (1982, TV Movie) as Frederick Treves
Flashpoint (1984) as Brook
Funny Farm (1988) as Crum Petree, the Mailman (uncredited)
Homeboy (1988) as Grazziano
One Good Cop (1991) as Lieutenant Danny Quinn
Jennifer 8 (1992) as Chief Citrine
Gettysburg (1993) as Sgt. Buster Kilrain
Streets of Laredo (1995, TV Mini-Series) as Mox Mox
The Quick and the Dead (1995) as Eugene Dred
The Outer Limits (1995-2002, TV Series) as the control voice
Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace (1996) as Jonathan Walker
Looking for Richard (1996) as William Hastings
Mercury Rising (1998) as Joe Lomax
Two Family House (2000) as Jim O'Neary
Thirteen Days (2000) as Gen. Curtis LeMay
Black Knight (2001) as King Leo
Mark Twain (2001, Documentary) as the voice of Mark Twain
Gods and Generals (2003) as Sgt. Buster Kilrain
Mystic River (2003) as Theo (uncredited)
Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (2005, Documentary) as the voice of Jack London
Invincible (2006) as Frank Papale
The Bronx Is Burning (2007) as Gabe Paul
The National Parks: America's Best Idea (2009) as the voice of various historical figures
The Dust Bowl (2012) as the voice of Ernie Pyle
Is That a Gun in Your Pocket? (2016) as Cyrus
Who Killed Jane Doe? (2017-2018, TV Series) as the Narrator
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