Richard Anderson, the actor who portrayed Oscar Goldman on the wildly successful 1970s TV series The Six Million Dollar Man and spinoff The Bionic Woman, has died. Anderson passed away on Thursday (August 31) at the age of 91.
According to a family spokesman, the actor died of natural causes at his home in Beverly Hills.
Rising to popularity in the '70s, The Six Million Dollar Man was based on the novel Cyborg by Martin Caidin. It starred Lee Majors as U.S. astronaut Steve Austin, who is severely injured in a crash and rebuild in a cyborg-like fashion. Anderson played Oscar Goldman, Majors' boss.
In a statement, Majors said, "Richard became a dear and loyal friend, and I have never met a man like him. I called him 'Old Money.' His always stylish attire, his class, calmness and knowledge never faltered in his 91 years."
Following its rise to fame, The Six Million Dollar Man eventually led to the 1976 spinoff The Bionic Woman, starring Lindsay Wagner. For that series, Anderson again reprised his role of Goldman.
"I can't begin to say how much I have always admired and have been grateful for the elegance and loving friendship I was blessed to have with Richard Anderson," Wagner said in a statement.
Besides Anderson's TV work, he appeared in such films as Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory, Forbidden Planet, The Long Hot Summer, Compulsion, The Wackiest Ship in the Navy, The Gathering of Eagles, Johnny Cool, Seven Days in May and Kitten with a Whip.
Anderson's family has said that his funeral services will be private.
According to a family spokesman, the actor died of natural causes at his home in Beverly Hills.
Rising to popularity in the '70s, The Six Million Dollar Man was based on the novel Cyborg by Martin Caidin. It starred Lee Majors as U.S. astronaut Steve Austin, who is severely injured in a crash and rebuild in a cyborg-like fashion. Anderson played Oscar Goldman, Majors' boss.
In a statement, Majors said, "Richard became a dear and loyal friend, and I have never met a man like him. I called him 'Old Money.' His always stylish attire, his class, calmness and knowledge never faltered in his 91 years."
Following its rise to fame, The Six Million Dollar Man eventually led to the 1976 spinoff The Bionic Woman, starring Lindsay Wagner. For that series, Anderson again reprised his role of Goldman.
"I can't begin to say how much I have always admired and have been grateful for the elegance and loving friendship I was blessed to have with Richard Anderson," Wagner said in a statement.
Besides Anderson's TV work, he appeared in such films as Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory, Forbidden Planet, The Long Hot Summer, Compulsion, The Wackiest Ship in the Navy, The Gathering of Eagles, Johnny Cool, Seven Days in May and Kitten with a Whip.
Anderson's family has said that his funeral services will be private.
