- According to his family, the actor had been suffering from a rare brain disease for four years
- His Slap Shot character inspired X-Men comic book character Wolverine
- In his later years, D’Amato worked as a shoe fitter at a ski shop in Vermont
Actor Paul D’Amato — who inspired the comedy character Wolverine and appeared in the wedding scene of The Deer Hunter — died Monday at the age of 76 after a four-year battle with a rare brain disease, his family said.
He was best known for playing a jaded green-haired Vietnam veteran opposite Robert De Niro in the 1978 Vietnam epic Deer Hunter, but also played a series of characters in the police TV drama Law and Order.
His fiancée Marina Re told the story The Hollywood Reporter he was the ‘most wonderful, sweetest man’ who fought ‘so hard’ against his illness.
D’Amato’s costar in the 1977 ice hockey comedy drama Slap Shot Steve Carlson also confirmed the news of his death in a post on X.
Carlson said, “RIP Paul D’Amato. “I send my sincere condolences to family and friends, actors.”
Actor Paul D’Amato – who appeared in the wedding scene of The Deer Hunter – has died at the age of 76. Depicted in the 1978 film
It was the late actor’s role as Tim ‘Dr. Hook’ McCracken in Slap Shot, which also starred Paul Newman and inspired X-Men comic character Wolverine.
Cartoonist John Byrne said of the star: ‘He just had the look of it. He had crazy eyes. And that’s what Wolverine needs.”
In his later years, D’Amato worked as a boot fitter at a ski shop in Vermont and is survived by his sister Andrea and girlfriend Marina Re.
Born in Worcester and later raised in Spencer, Massachusetts, D’Amato began working as a stagehand at the age of fourteen, which inspired him to become an actor.
D’Amato was an athlete as well as an actor, appearing in theater productions and on the ice hockey team while attending Emerson College in Boston.
D’Amato said Worcester Magazine in 2014 that his experience on hockey ice opened the door for his stint in Slap Shot.
‘I got a call from my agent: ‘You play hockey, right? Do you still skate?’ I said I did,” he told the publication.
D’Amato said he was auditioning at local venue Sky Rink when he heard “Paul Newman is doing a hockey movie.”
It was the late actor’s role as Dr. Hook Tim McCracken in Slap Shot which inspired X-Men comic character Wolverine
Cartoonist John Byrne said of the star: ‘He just had the look of it. He had crazy eyes. And that’s what Wolverine must have’
The actor described the audition for the comedy, which also starred Strother Martin, Michael Ontkean and Jerry Houser.
“At the audition, I look outside, they’re already on the ice, but they can’t skate and my heart almost jumped out of my chest because I realized at that moment that I had a chance, that I was better than these guys ,’ he said.
D’Amato also appeared in a series of benefit golf tournaments and sports meets, including the Enfield tournament, which he played in for about 10 years and raised money for scholarships.