George Segal with Ben Gazzara and Robert Vaughn during the filming of "The Bridge at Remagen" in 1968.
BY LEE PFEIFFER
Actor George Segal has passed away at age 87. Segal became a rising young star in the 1960s and went on to enjoy success in both feature films and television. He made his big screen debut in "The Young Doctors" in 1961 and within a few years had appeared in "Ship of Fools" and his first starring role in "King Rat". The 1965 adaptation of James Clavell's novel found Segal as an American prisoner in a Japanese P.O.W. camp in WWII. He uses his guile and survival skills to not only stay alive but to thrive, much to disgust of British P.O.W.s who think his actions border on collaboration with the enemy. Segal's biggest break came the following year when he was cast in Mike Nichols' screen adaptation of Edward Albee's Broadway smash "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?". The film has only four main characters in it. Segal played the key role of Nick, a handsome young college professor who, along with his immature wife (Sandy Dennis), spend a fateful evening in the company of his colleague George (Richard Burton) and his vulgar wife Martha (Elizabeth Taylor). In the course of a seemingly endless evening, witty banter turns to heavy drinking, personal insults, illicit sex and the revelation of secrets about each person that leaves the two couples emotionally shattered. The film is regarded as a classic. Taylor won the Best Actress Oscar and Dennis won for Best Supporting Actress. Burton was nominated for Best Actor and Segal was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Now a bankable leading man, Segal went on to star in an eclectic selection of films including the spy thriller "The Quiller Memorandum", "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre", "Bye, Bye Braverman", "No Way to Treat a Lady" and the cult comedy "Where's Poppa?". In 1969, Segal was filming the WWII movie "The Bridge at Remagen" in Czechoslovakia with Robert Vaughn and Ben Gazzara when the Soviet invasion occurred, leaving the stars and production company to fend for themselves to escape the country.
Segal's other prominent films include "The Owl and the Pussycat" (opposite Barbra Streisand), "Loving", "Blume in Love", "The Hot Rock", "A Touch of Class" , "Rollercoaster" , "Fun with Dick and Jane", "Look Who's Talking" and "The Cable Guy". In the 1997, he was cast in the hit sitcom "Just Shoot Me!". More recently, he he played the role of Albert "Pops" Solomon in the long-running TV series "The Goldbergs". Segal's final episode of the series is to broadcast in April.
For more about his life and career, click here. For tributes from his colleagues, click here.