Veteran American character actor James Sloyan, known for films including ‘The Sting’ and ‘Xanadu’ and his appearances in several ‘Star Trek’ series, has died at 85.
Sloyan died on 22 July at his home in Sherman Oaks, California, his family announced over the weekend.
In ‘The Sting’ (1973), Sloyan played Mottola, a numbers runner working for Robert Shaw’s racketeer character Doyle Lonnegan. He later appeared in ‘Xanadu’ (1980) as Simpson, the demanding boss of Sonny Malone, played by Michael Beck.
‘Star Trek’ fans knew Sloyan for five appearances across ‘The Next Generation’, ‘Deep Space Nine’ and ‘Voyager’ during the 1990s. He portrayed characters from four species, including Bajoran scientist Dr Mora and Haakonian scientist Ma’bor Jetrel. He also served as the voice of Lexus in commercials for 18 years from 1989.
Born in Indianapolis on 24 February 1941, Sloyan graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and served three years in the US Army. He later worked in theatre before making his screen debut in ‘The Traveling Executioner’ in 1970.
His television credits included ‘Westside Medical’, ‘Wonder Woman’, ‘Lou Grant’, ‘Falcon Crest’, ‘Murder, She Wrote’, ‘The X-Files’ and ‘NYPD Blue’. He also played Madeline Kahn’s husband in the 1983-84 ABC sitcom, which ended after 18 episodes.
Sloyan is survived by his wife, actress Deirdre Lenihan, and their children Daniel and actress Samantha Sloyan, known for ‘The Life of Chuck’ and ‘Grey’s Anatomy’.
