Actor Mike Nussbaum passes away
Chicago: Mike Nussbaum, renowned as America’s oldest professional actor with an illustrious stage career and roles in films such as ‘Field of Dreams’ and ‘Men in Black’, has died. He was 99 years old.
He died of old age at his Chicago home on Saturday, just days before his 100th birthday, his daughter Karen Nussbaum told The Associated Press.
“He was a good father and a good man who raised us to care about other people, to respect other people and to care about justice,” she said.
Mike Nussbaum was acknowledged by the Actors Equity Association union as the nation’s oldest professional actor several times over the years. When Nussbaum was asked about her situation as a working non-adult person over the years, she said that she simply enjoyed the work.
“I’m talented and fortunate that I’m still able to do the thing that is the most fun I have in life,” he told WBEZ Chicago in 2019 when he was 94. “As long as I can do it, I will.”
Born in Chicago’s Albany Park neighborhood in December 1923, Nussbaum first acted in summer camps. He did not pursue acting full-time until he was 40 and worked as an exterminator for a time. He received his Equity Card in the 1970s.
Nussbaum spent more than 50 years on stages in the Chicago area, including the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. He played many other roles including Shylock in ‘The Merchant of Venice’ and Gremio in ‘The Taming of the Shrew’, produced in 2005.
In 1984, he won a Drama Desk Award for his performance in David Mamet’s ‘Glengarry Glen Ross’, which won the Pulitzer Prize the same year. Nussbaum worked frequently with Mamet over the years.
Nussbaum performed into his 90s, including in 2017 playing Albert Einstein in the play ‘Relativity’ at the Northlight Theater in suburban Skokie, where he also briefly served as artistic director.
“His talent was that you couldn’t tell he was acting,” said B.J. said Jones, who is his longtime friend and colleague and currently artistic director of Northlight. “His level of authenticity was unmatched. You never saw him sweating. He wasn’t trying to draw attention to himself. ,
Although he was primarily a stage actor, his film credits included a school principal in ‘Field of Dreams’ and the role of Gentle Rosenberg in ‘Men in Black’, whose head pops up to reveal a small alien creature. Opens during important scene.
A private funeral service has been planned. A public memorial service will be held the following year.
