Biography
Sydney Lassick, a chubby, restless, and distinctive character actor, was born on July 23, 1922, in Chicago, Illinois, to Jewish Russian immigrant parents. He began his acting career in films and television in the late 1950s. Known for his portly figure, glasses, high-pitched voice, and nervous demeanor, Lassick often portrayed irritable neurotics, sycophantic toadies, and anxious everyman characters. He is best remembered for his exceptional role as the whiny, infantile, manic-depressive mental patient Charlie Cheswick in the acclaimed film "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Other notable roles include a whimsical Fairy Godfather in the lowbrow nudie cutie musical "Sinderella and the Golden Bra," the sarcastic and mean English teacher Mr. Fromm in "Carrie," the genuinely creepy and abusive innkeeper Ernest Keller in the unsettling slasher horror "The Unseen," the slimy Charlie P. in the twisted cult film "Sonny Boy," the effeminate henchman Gopher in "Deep Cover," and the cheerful trailer park manager Woody Wilson in "Freeway." Lassick also made guest appearances on TV shows such as "Family," "Eight is Enough," "Baretta," "Hawaii Five-O," "Barney Miller," "Matt Houston," "Moonlighting," "Knots Landing," "Dream On," and "The X-Files." He passed away at age 80 on April 12, 2003, in Los Angeles, California, due to complications from diabetes, and was survived by an older sister.
