---
name: "Bud Cort"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/bud-cort"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "29 March 1948"
died: "11 February 2026"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T10:21:42.674671+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Bud Cort

Actor. Born 29 March 1948 in Rye, New York, USA. Died 11 February 2026.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 29 March 1948, Rye, New York, USA
- **Died:** 11 February 2026
- **Also known as:** Walter Edward Cox

## Fi1m on Bud Cort

> Bud Cort makes eccentric behaviour feel carefully rehearsed, with the hurt still visible underneath. We rate him for the small changes that make *Harold and Maude* believable: he lets affection reach Harold without making the strangeness disappear.

Harold stages his deaths with the concentration of someone determined to get the details right. In Hal Ashby’s *Harold and Maude* (1971), Cort makes these displays seem practised, giving the boy control over a spectacle when ordinary living defeats him. He leaves enough hurt visible to stop Harold becoming merely a nuisance. The care he takes over playing dead suggests how much he needs something he can do well.

Robert Altman cast Cort in a supporting role in *M\*A\*S\*H* (1970) and as the title character in *Brewster McCloud* (1970). Playing Harold brought wider recognition and left Cort typecast as an eccentric misfit. Later work included supporting and voice roles, with Bill Ubell in Wes Anderson’s *The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou* (2004) among the film parts. That history can encourage a narrow account of what he does: turn up, look unusual, supply the odd behaviour. His work as Harold deserves closer attention than that.

Ashby’s film gives him Ruth Gordon’s Maude, whose enjoyment of Harold’s company matters more than any determination to improve him. Cort responds without trying to match her exuberance, letting their scenes develop through attention and reserve. We were moved by the growing ease between them, because he allows Harold to accept affection without abruptly becoming a different person. That gradual change makes the romance credible despite a premise that gives both actors plenty of opportunities to overdo it.

There are limits to what his precision can do, and *Harold and Maude* sometimes tests them. The repeated staged suicides can dull the comedy, while the script grows too pleased with its disregard for convention. Cort keeps the boy’s hurt in view, but we would not pretend that each repetition tells us more about him. We recommend the film with that caveat, and for a performance whose small adjustments repay attention. Watch his responses to Gordon as closely as his performances of death.

## Biography

Bud Cort, born Walter Edward Cox, was an American actor. He began his career with small roles in films including *Up the Down Staircase* (1967) and *Sweet Charity* (1969). Discovered by director Robert Altman while performing stand-up comedy, he appeared as Pvt. Lorenzo Boone in *M*A*S*H* (1970) and took the title role in *Brewster McCloud* (1970).

Cort's best-known performance was as the death-obsessed Harold Chasen in Hal Ashby's *Harold and Maude* (1971). The film, initially a commercial failure, later gained cult status. For the role he received nominations for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and a BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer. He appeared in numerous other films and television series, including *Heat* (1995), *Dogma* (1999), *The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou* (2004) and *The Number 23* (2007). Cort died on 11 February 2026 in Norwalk, Connecticut, aged 77.

*Sources: nytimes.com, en.wikipedia.org, variety.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Harold and Maude* (1971), Fi1m 81, as Harold — [page](https://film.one/film/harold-and-maude.md)

## Also known for

- *Heat* (1995), Solenko, Restaurant Manager (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/heat.md)
- *The Number 23* (2007), Dr. Sirius Leary
- *The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou* (2004), Bill Ubell
- *The Little Prince* (2015), The King (voice)
- *Dogma* (1999), John Doe Jersey
- *Coyote Ugly* (2000), Romero
- *Batman: The Animated Series* (1992), Josiah Wormwood (voice)
- *Arrested Development* (2003), Bud Cort — [page](https://film.one/tv/arrested-development.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/bud-cort