Prolific veteran actor Dean Stockwell died November 7, 2021 at the age of 85.  The family listed natural causes as the cause of death.

Stockwell began his acting career on the Broadway stage when he was just seven years old in “The Innocent Voyage”.  He returned many years later to appear in “Compulsion”.

Back in his native Los Angeles, he appeared in over 200 productions.  But it wasn’t until he became a part of the science fiction series “Quantum Leap” as Al the holographic companion that Stockwell became a household name.

While the Academy and Emmy Awards eluded him, Stockwell earned a Best Actor award twice at the Cannes Film Festival for his roles in “Compulsion” and “Long Day’s Journey into Night”.  He also received a Golden Globe Award for Best Juvenile and a second one for his role in “Quantum Leap”.

Among his more than 200 roles include a 1945 appearance in “Anchors Aweigh”, “Gentleman’s Agreement”, “The Boy with Green Hair”, the film version of “Compulsion”, “Sons and Lovers”, “Wagon Train”, “The Twilight Zone”, “Long Day’s Journey into Night”, “Dr. Kildare”, “Mission: Impossible”, “Paris, Texas”, the 1984 “Dune”, “Beverly Hills Cop II”, “Married to the Mob”, 97 episodes of “Quantum Leap”, “Snowy River: The McGregor Saga”, “Air Force One”, “Buffalo Soldiers”, “First Monday”, “Star Trek: Enterprise”, “Stargate SG-1”, “JAG”, the reboot of “Battlestar Galactica”, and “NCIS: New Orleans”.

He was born Richard Dean Stockwell on March 5, 1936 in North Hollywood into an acting family.  His father voiced Prince Charming.  His older brother Guy was also an actor, Dean never really wanted to be an actor and actually quit acting at age 16.  “I never really wanted to be an actor.  I found acting very difficult from the beginning. I worked long hours, six days a week. It wasn’t fun.”  Stockwell tried quitting a number of times but always returned noting that he wasn’t trained for anything else.  When not acting, Stockwell enjoyed photography and sculpting.

He retired from acting in 2015 after a stroke.

Predeceased by his brother Guy, he is survived by his second wife of 40 years Joy and children – Austin and Sophie.

feature photo credit: [[File:Dean Stockwell 03 (7086425411).jpg|Dean_Stockwell_03_(7086425411)]]