MIAMI (CelebrityAccess) — Donald Sutherland, a versatile actor of stage and screen known for diverse roles in films such as Klute, Kelly’s Heroes, M*A*S*H, and The Dirty Dozen, died on Thursday in Miami. He was 88.
His passing was announced by his son, fellow actor Kiefer Sutherland via social media: “With a heavy heart, I tell you that my father, Donald Sutherland, has passed away. I personally think one of the most important actors in the history of film. Never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly. He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more than that. A life well lived.”
Born in New Brunswick in 1935, Sutherland attended Victoria University where he graduated with a double major in engineering and drama before relocating to the United Kingdom to study at the London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art.
After departing the school, Sutherland spent more than a year with the Perth Repertory Theatre in Scotland before he began landing small roles in British films and television, including appearances on shows such as The Saint, and The Avengers.
Sutherland’s breakout role came in 1967 when he was cast in the war movie The Dirty Dozen, alongside actors such as Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson, prompting Sutherland to leave London for Hollywood.
In short order, Sutherland was cast in films such as the 1970 dark comedy M*A*S*H, where he was cast as the nihilistic doctor “Hawkeye” Pierce, and the war-heist film Kelly’s Heroes, where he played the madcap tank commander Oddball.
His other major roles included the 1971 detective thriller Klute, Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1976 epic 1900, and the Academy Award-winning family drama Ordinary People in 1980, among numerous others.
While Sutherland famously never won an Oscar, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada on 18 December 1978 and promoted to Companion of the Order of Canada in 2019. Sutherland was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2000.
