Veteran actor Mike Nussbaum has died at the age of 99
The veteran actor Mike Nussbaum, known for starring in the likes of Men in Black and Field of Dreams, has died at 99, just a few days short of his 100th birthday.
His daughter Karen reported the news to TMZ. She explained that she was by his side in the hospice where he had spent his final year at the time, and that he simply died of old age. “It was his time,” she added.
Prior to his recent ailing health, Nussbaum had been one of the oldest working actors in the whole industry, scoring credits as recently as 2020. However, the bulk of his blockbuster work came in the 1980s and ’90s, landing his most iconic role in Men in Black where he starred as Gentle Rosenberg.
Away from the screen, the Chicagoan actor was also prolific on the stage. He even performed in a run of Hamlet at the age of 95. Nevertheless, he remained decidedly modest throughout his career.
Reflecting on his storied life in the arts, in 2019 he told the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper: “I’m lucky. Genetic luck. I work out and I try to eat sensibly. I gave up smoking about 50 years ago. It’s just pure luck.” And the ageing actor said pretty much the same about his career.
He also offered up the advice of stationing yourself in Chicago. “I think that being an actor in Chicago, over a number of years, is the most satisfying life I could imagine. I found New York and LA to be… antithetic to art. The desire for fame, the desire for glory, for money, is overwhelming in both cities,” he said.
Concluding: “Although I had some success in both cities, I decided my life was more balanced here. I enjoy getting on the bus to go downtown and have someone come up and say, ‘I loved you in such-and-such’.” And it was this sagely advice that the kind faced actor was known for on-set.
Nussbaum is survived by his three children.
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