Kevin Conway, veteran stage and screen actor known for films like 'Oz' and 'Gettysburg', passes away at 77
Kevin Conway, known for his roles in films such as 'Gettysburg', 'Invincible', and in HBO's 'Oz', died on Wednesday, February 5, of a heart attack. He was 77 years old.
Conway acted across different media such as films, television as well as on stage. Born in New York City in 1972, Conway got his first major screen role in the 1972 adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's acclaimed novel, 'Slaughterhouse-Five', playing Roland Weary. Before becoming an actor, Conway worked as an IBM sales analyst.
Conway went on to be a part of 'The Scarlet Letter' in 1972 as Roger Chillingworth, 'The Elephant Man' (1982, TV movie) as Frederick Treves, 'Flashpoint' (1984) as Brook, and 'Gettysburg' (1993) as Sgt. Buster Kilrain. He also played Mark Wahlberg's onscreen father in 'Invincible' (2006).
He also appeared in numerous TV shows in his forty-plus-year-long career. His most acclaimed role is that of Seamus O'Reily, the abusive father of Ryan and Cyril O'Reily in the HBO prison drama 'Oz'. Conway's other television credits include roles in 'The Good Wife', 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent', 'JAG, 'The Outer Limits', 'The Black Donnellys', 'The Bronx is Burning' and 'Person of Interest'.
The actor's off-Broadway credits include 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' -- which he often cited as his personal favorite, 'One for the Road', 'The Elephant Man', 'Other People's Money' and 'When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?', for which he received the 1974 Drama Desk Award. He was part of the original Broadway cast of 'The Elephant Man', playing Surgeon Frederick Treves.
On Broadway, he has appeared in 'Indians', 'Moonchildren' and in revivals of 'The Plough and the Stars', 'Of Mice and Men' (as George Milton, opposite James Earl Jones as Lennie Small), and 'Dinner at Eight'.
Conway also directed the 1990 independent film The Sun and the Moon. He earned a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Director in 1980 for directing Ted Whitehead’s play 'Mecca'.