Saturday, March 19, 2016

Larry Drake Dead at 66

Larry Drake
Larry Drake, who earned two Emmy Awards for his portrayal of mentally-challenged character Benny Stulwicz in L.A. Law, died on Thursday, March 17. He was 66.

Drake's body was found in his Los Angeles-area home by a friend, said Charles Edward Pogue, himself a longtime friend and collaborator of Drake's.

The cause of death was not immediately known. The heavyset actor had suffered from health issues related to his weight, said Steven Siebert, Drake's manager for 30 years.

Drake was proud of a career that spanned TV, film and stage, including the 1990 movie Darkman, Siebert said. He earned Emmys in 1988 and 1989 for playing office worker Benny on L.A. Law.

In a 1989 interview with The Associated Press, Drake said he portrayed Benny not as a stereotype but as a man with a full range of emotions.

"And that seems to surprise people -- that (such) characters can feel as much as they feel, and note as much as they note," he said.

Pogue recalled his friend as "one of a kind" and far different from the roles in which he was often cast, including villains and, at least twice, characters named Bubba.

Drake's TV credits included the primetime dramas Firefly, Six Feet Under, Prey and 7th Heaven.

Although Drake sometimes chafed at being typecast, Pogue said, he appreciated the opportunities he had. Their projects included writing a mystery-comedy play, "Whodunnit, Darling?"

Drake, a graduate of the University of Oklahoma, recently had focused on teaching acting, Siebert said.

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