(CNN) — Actor John Forsythe has died at the age of 92, his publicist said Friday.
He died Thursday in Santa Ynez, California, from complications from pneumonia after a year-long struggle with cancer, according to a statement from his publicist.
“Thankfully, he died as he lived his life — with dignity and grace,” the statement said.
Forsythe was perhaps best known as the voice of the never-seen Charlie in the TV show and movies “Charlie’s Angels,” and for his role as oil magnate Blake Carrington in the 1980s TV show “Dynasty,” for which he received two Golden Globe Awards for best actor.
He is survived by his wife, three children, six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren, the statement said.
Forsythe, the son of a Wall Street businessman, was born John Lincoln Freund in 1918 in Penn’s Grove, New Jersey.
After attending the University of North Carolina, he moved to New York City, where he began his career as a radio actor. He also worked as the field announcer for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field.
Forsythe was one of the original founding members of Lee Strasburg’s The Actors Studio.
He acted in many notable live television shows, including “Studio One,” “Philco Playhouse,” “Kraft Theatre” and “Robert Montgomery Presents,” including the award-winning episode “What Makes Sammy Run?”
“His first Broadway appearances in ‘Vickie’ and ‘Yankee Point’ led to a motion picture contract with Warner Brothers and his Hollywood debut with Cary Grant in ‘Destination Tokyo,’ ” the official biography from his family said.
He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, and then performed in numerous Broadway productions after the war, before moving to Los Angeles, California.
Forsythe was nominated for several Emmy awards for the television series “Bachelor Father” from 1957 to 1962.
He was also working in feature films, including Robert Wise’s “Captive City,” “It Happens Every Thursday” with Loretta Young, “The Glass Web,” and two Alfred Hitchcock films, “The Trouble with Harry” and “Topaz.” He also starred in “The Ambassador’s Daughter,” “Madame X,” Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood,” “The Happy Ending,” “And Justice For All” and “Scrooged.”
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