Actor and Activist Edward Albert Dies

Edward Albert, a former actor who was the son of Green Acres star Eddie Albert and the godson of family friend Laurence Olivier, has died. He was 55.

He passed away last Friday at his home in Malibu after a battle with lung cancer, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Albert’s breakthrough role came in the 1972 comedy Butterflies Are Free, in which he starred with Goldie Hawn. That performance earned him a Golden Globe award. He went on to act in more than 120 movies and TV productions over the years.

For the last 10 years, Albert cared for his ailing father, Eddie Albert, who died in May 2005 at 99.

The younger Albert had inherited a passion for activism from his father, and served on the California Coastal Commission and the state’s Native American Heritage Commission. The environment was “a big part of his life,” said Ed Begley Jr., a fellow conservancy board member, as were “the culture and rights of native American peoples.”

Albert had “a deep love for the ocean, mountains and canyons, as well as the Chumash native culture of his area,” his family said. He settled on a Malibu ranch and lived there for the past 30 years.

He is survived by his wife, actress Kate Woodville; their daughter, Thais; and his sister, Maria Zucht.