Legendary Screenwriter Buck Henry Who Co-Created Get Smart and Wrote The Graduate Dies at 89
Legendary screenwriter, actor and director Buck Henry has died. He was 89.
Henry suffered a heart attack and died at Cedars-Sinai Health Center in Los Angeles on Wednesday, his family members confirmed to Deadline.
Born in New York City on Dec. 9, 1930, Henry is most known for writing the screenplay for The Graduate, and Catch-22 and co-creating Get Smart.
He received an Oscar nomination for best adapted screenplay for The Graduate, which was released in 1967 and follows a recent college graduate (Dustin Hoffman) as he finds himself torn between his older lover Mrs. Robinson and her daughter.
Henry also scored a nod for best director for Heaven Can Wait, which tells the story of a Los Angeles Rams quarterback who dies in a car accident and returns in the form of a greedy multimillionaire. Henry also starred in the film as the quarterback’s guardian angel.
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His acting credits include both TV and film as he’s starred in a number of shows and movings including, To Die For — which also starred Nicole Kidman — The Last Shot, Town & Country as well as 30 Rock, Will & Grace and Hot in Cleveland, according to Henry’s IMDb.
His accomplishments don’t end there.
Henry is also a founding member of Saturday Night Live‘s Five-Timers Club. Members are inducted after hosting the comedy sketch show five times. Henry has hosted 10 times. Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin, John Goodman, Melissa McCarthy and Tom Hanks are also members.
Since news of his death broke, a number of fellow directors, writers and fans have paid tribute to the late star.
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“R.I.P. Buck Henry — our most fearless screenwriter. Buck was also a big personalty & a performer… he gave screenwriting a face. Growing up, I could turn on Saturday Night Live (which Buck hosted 10 times) and point to the funniest, smartest guy and say — that’s a screen writer,” Larry Karaszewksi, whose credits include Dolemite Is My Name and The People Vs. O.J. Simpson, wrote on Twitter.
Henry is survived by his wife Sally Zuckerman.
