Actor Edward Laurence Albert died Friday. He was 55.
His wife actress Kate Woodville said he had suffered from lung cancer for 17 months. Despite his illness he had tended to his ailing father, actor Eddie Albert, who died at the age of 97, May 26, 2005. His mother was actress Margo Albert and both parents were once black-listed.
Edward died at home in Malibu where a Chumash medicine woman performed a post-passing traditional ceremony. Wife Kate said Edward “had a deep love for the ocean, mountains and canyons as well as the Chumash native culture of this area. He worked tirelessly to preserve what he could of the natural wonders and native sites in both Malibu and the Santa Monica Mountains.”
The Escondido Canyon has been renamed in his honor as the Edward Albert Escondido Trail and Waterfalls.
Edward’s first film was “Fool Killer” at age 11 opposite Anthony Perkins, He costarred with Goldie Hawn in “Butterflies are Free” (1972) for which he won a Golden Globe.
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He had 126 films and TV appearances to his credit. In 2003 he costarred in Ed Begley Jr.’s theater production, “Cesar and Ruben,” the musical about union hero Cesar Chavez.
“His true passion lay with his family first,” said wife Kate. “He devoted the last ten years of his life to caring for his ailing father, Eddie. His neighbors, friends and family knew him as a fierce and dedicated environmentalist. He touched many lives, even saved a few. He will be remembered as a magnificent man, loving father and husband.”
He is also survived by their daughter Thais Albert, singer/songwriter of the rock band Sugar in Wartime. A service is being planned at the Self-Realization Center.