The 93-year-old Jack Axelrod, popular for his role as a mob boss in General Hospital for three years and his iconic guest roles in My Name is Earl and Grey’s Anatomy, died on November 28, 2023. According to The Hollywood Reporter, his representative, Jennifer Garland, announced that Axelrod’s death was caused due to natural circumstances in Los Angeles.
The General Hospital actor is also popular for starring in Woody Allen’s Bananas, which was one of his first onscreen roles. He appeared in Hancock, Winged Creatures, Little Fockers, Super 8, J.Edgar and The Lone Ranger.
In ABC’s soap, General Hospital, according to THR, Axelrod portrayed the gangster Victor Jerome for three years, starting from 1987 to 1989. In addition, he also played the “Electrolarynx Guy” on the NBC comedy My Name is Earl, also for three years, starting from 2005 to 2008.
He also starred on the most popular ABC drama, Grey’s Anatomy, between 2006 and 2007. He appeared as the patient Charlie Yost. His character spent an exorbitant period in a semi-conscious state at Seattle Grace before eventually taking his last breath while he was trying to get in a wheelchair to leave. Per THR, Axelrod continued to work persistently till 2020, when he announced his retirement at 90.
He was born in Los Angeles on January 25, 1930. While growing up, he served as a corporal in the U.S. Army, deployed in Germany from February 1953 to February 1955. Majoring in architecture at UC Berkeley, Axelrod eventually received his license as an architect in the state of Washington. At the same time, he also studied acting with Uta Hagen at HB Studios in New York for six years. His lessons fructified in 1969 when he portrayed Banquo in an off-Broadway production of Macbeth. In 1970, he also offered a theatrical performance at an off-Broadway play, Gandhi.
In addition to these roles, Axelrod is popular for working on television shows, including Kojak, Hill Street Blues, Dallas, Dynasty, Night Court, Knots Landing, Murphy Brown, Everybody Loves Raymond, Star Trek: Voyager, Frasier, Scrubs, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Hot in Cleveland, Shameless, The Office, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Ray Donovan, Baskets and Modern Family.
Moreover, he provided his critical acumen to aspiring individuals by working as a theatre faculty member at colleges, including the University of Wisconsin, University of Michigan, Boston University, Penn State, Temple University, Cal State Northridge, CalArts, and Brandeis University.