Screenwriter and actor Buck Henry, best known for his work on The Graduate and the TV show Get Smart, has died age 89. A family member confirmed the two-time Oscar nominee has passed, as Deadline noted.
During the early days of his career, Henry was a frequent guest host on Saturday Night Live, appearing ten times from 1976 to 1980. He made a name for himself not just through his comedic acting and screenwriting, however, as he served as co-director on Heaven Can Wait alongside Warren Beatty. During the latter years of his life, his output dramatically lessened. His last screenwriting credit was for 2014's The Humbling, which starred Al Pacino and Greta Gerwig.
Director Mike Nichols notably tapped Henry to rewrite Calder Willingham's script for The Graduate when he wasn't happy with the tone. "He wasn’t a screenwriter when I asked him to write the screenplay. He improvised comedy," Nichols said in an interview with Vanity Fair in 2008. "He had not, to my knowledge, written anything. And I said, ‘I think you could do it; I think you should do it.’ And he could, and he did."
Other screenwriting credits include Catch-22, Heaven Can Wait, First Family, Protocol, To Die For, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. As an actor he had small appearances in everything from Tales from the Crypt to Will & Grace and 30 Rock.
