Allen Garfield, ‘Nashville’ and ‘The Conversation’ Star Dies of Coronavirus at 80

By Jordan Moreau

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Allen Garfield, an actor who appeared in movies like “Nashville” and “The Stunt Man,” has died of coronavirus, according to his “Nashville” co-star Ronee Blakely. He was 80.

“RIP Allen Garfield, the great actor who played my husband in “Nashville”, has died today of Covid; I hang my head in tears; condolences to family and friends; I will post more later; cast and crew, sending love,” Blakely posted on Facebook on Tuesday.

Garfield first appeared on the big screen in the 1968 film “Orgy Girls ’69” after studying at the Actors Studio in New York with Elia Kazan and Lee Strasberg. He was known for playing corrupt and villainous businessmen and politicians. His other film credits include Woody Allen’s “Bananas,” “A State of Things, “Until the End of the World” and Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Conversation” and “The Cotton Club.” His final film appearance was in “Chief Zabu,” which was released in 2016 but filmed in 1986.

The actor resided at the Motion Picture Country Home and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Calif., after suffering a stroke in 2004. He also had a stroke five years earlier before filming Roman Polanski’s “The Ninth Gate” in 1999.

Before becoming an actor, Garfield was an amateur boxer and worked as a sports reporter.