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Character actor Kenneth McMillan was born on July 2, 1932, in Brooklyn, New York. Before embarking on an acting career, he worked as a manager at Gimbels Department Store. At age 30, McMillan chose to pursue acting, attending the LaGuardia High School for Performing Arts and studying under Uta Hagen and Irene Dailey. He made his film debut at 41 with a minor role in Sidney Lumet's gritty police drama Serpico (1973). Known for his portly build and ruddy complexion, often paired with a gruff and cantankerous demeanor, McMillan was typically cast as hostile and unfriendly characters. His notable roles include the borough commander in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974), a cowardly small-town sheriff in Tobe Hooper's miniseries Salem's Lot (1979), William Hurt's bitter paraplegic father in Eyewitness (1981), a racist fire chief in Ragtime (1981), a crafty old safecracker in The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984), the grotesquely obese Baron Vladimir Harkonnen in Dune (1984), Aidan Quinn's pathetic alcoholic father in Reckless (1984), and a sleazy high-roller gambler in the "The Ledge" episode of the horror anthology Cat's Eye (1985).
In addition to dramatic roles, McMillan excelled in comedy, delivering memorable performances as a baseball club manager in Blue Skies Again (1983), Meg Ryan's corrupt police chief father in Armed and Dangerous (1986), and a senile veterinarian in Three Fugitives (1989). He had a recurring role as Valerie Harper's irate boss on the sitcom Rhoda (1974). His television guest appearances include Dark Shadows (1966), Ryan's Hope (1975), Kojak (1973), Starsky and Hutch (1975), The Rockford Files (1974), Moonlighting (1985), Magnum, P.I. (1980), and Murder, She Wrote (1984). Beyond film and television, McMillan frequently performed on stage with the New York Shakespeare Festival and appeared in the original Broadway productions of Streamers and American Buffalo. He earned an Obie Award for his performance in the off-Broadway play Weekends Like Other People. Kenneth McMillan passed away from liver disease at age 56 on January 8, 1989, in Santa Monica, California.
