Veteran character actor John Saxon passed away at the age of 83 following a career with roles in dozens of films and movies over more than 50 years…
Veteran character actor John Saxon — best known for his role in three different “Nightmare on Elm Street” movies — died on Saturday. He was 83 years old.
According to Saxon’s wife in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter, he passed away after a bout with pneumonia in his home in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Saxon’s acting roles first started all the way back in 1954 and he worked consistently through the years with at least one project just recently going into post production.
A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Saxon studied acting under famed coach Stella Adler and worked consistently throughout the 1950’s and 1960’s. In 1973, Saxon starred alongside Bruce Lee in the iconic film “Enter the Dragon” while also making guest appearances on several TV series such as “The Six Million Dollar Man” and “Starsky and Hutch.”
In 1984, Saxon teamed up with writer/director Wes Craven for the original “A Nightmare on Elm Street” where he played the local police chief and father to the lead character played by Heather Langenkamp. Saxon reprised his role for 1987’s “A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors” and he played a fictionalized version of himself in Craven’s “A New Nightmare” in 1994.
Saxon acted regularly in guest roles on several TV series as well as films throughout the 2000’s as well.
Saxon is survived by his wife and two children.
