American actor Roy Dana (RD) Call, a much-respected star of television, film and stage, has died aged 70.
His family announced yesterday that Utah-born Call, who appeared in films such as Into The Wild, Last Man Standing and Born On The Fourth Of July, had died on February 27.
Call enjoyed a long-standing collaboration with the actor Sean Penn, with whom he worked on a number of projects.
Born in 1950, he travelled to Los Angeles in 1975 to pursue a career in acting, attending the Lee Strasberg Acting School and Lonny Chapman’s LA Repertory Theater Group.
He first appeared on television in the drama Barnaby Jones, episodes of which were directed by Leo Penn, Sean Penn’s father. Through that, he formed a firm friendship with the family that led to further collaboration.
He went on to appear on notable shows such as The X-Files, Little House on the Prairie, and V.
He also had a recurring role in Stephen King’s Golden Years show.
According to a statement released by his family, the actor often said “acting just wasn’t real unless you were willing and able to perform live theatre”.
They added: “RD was as tough as nails on the outside but a real gentleman on the inside.
“He could be very intimidating at first sight, or even a little scary to some, but once you got to know him his directness turned into a fondness for getting to know people.
“He was who he was. Honest, direct, genuine and funny.
“He had a great sense of humour and there was no pretence or phoniness.”
Call, who struggled with alcoholism, had celebrated his 26th year of sobriety this year.
The actor had wrestled with major back pain in recent years and he had surgery in 2019 and again on February 24.
He died three days later after complications.
Call is survived by his brother Rick, sisters Quay Burbank and Cindy Thomas, his uncle Lane and his aunt Evelyn.
