Paul Benedict, 1938-2008. R.I.P.

I just read that actor Paul Benedict died on Monday. He was found in his home on Martha's Vineyard. His cause of death is unknown as of this writing. Benedict was 70.

Benedict's name might not ring a bell with most people. But if you watched The Jeffersons then you knew him as Bentley, George and Louise Jefferson's eccentric English neighbor.

Benedict did some occasional film work. I remember him in The Freshman one of Marlon Brando's last films. He also was part of Christopher Guest's company of actors in such films as This Is Spinal Tap, Waiting For Guffman & A Mighty Wind.

But Benedict worked mostly as a stage actor. I did not know that he lived in the Boston area and made regular appearances with the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge. His last appearance with the American Repertory Theatre was in Harold Pinter's No Man's Land in 2007.

Well, now he's moving on up to the sky.