Denis Arndt, Tony Nominee for Heisenberg, Dies at 86

Tony nominee Denis Arndt has died at the age of 86.

On and off-Broadway, Arndt starred opposite Mary-Louise Parker in Simon Stephens’s two-hander Heisenberg, for which he received his Tony nomination. The Manhattan Theatre Club production marked his Broadway debut, at the age of 77.

Arndt spent 15 seasons at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, making his debut there in the title role of King Lear in 1976 (he reprised the role in 1985). For the company, he starred in the likes of Titus Andronicus, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Othello, and The Tempest, among many other shows.

A Vietnam veteran helicopter pilot who was awarded the Purple Heart twice, Arndt went on to fly helicopters in Alaska before moving to Seattle and starting to act. He was a founding member of the Intiman Theatre.

On screen, Arndt appeared in films like Basic Instinct and How to Make an American Quilt, with television appearances ranging from L.A. Law to Picket Fences to The Good Fight. A veteran of the television shows of David E. Kelley, he also appeared on Chicago Hope, Ally McBeal, The Practice, Boston Public, Boston Legal and Mr. Mercedes.

Beyond acting, he was passionate about sailing his boat around the San Juan islands. Arndt is survived by Magee Downey, his wife of 45 years, their 3 children, Bryce, McKenna, and Tanner; his four children, Scott, Tammy, Laurie, and Kirsten, from an earlier marriage to Marjorie, and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great- grandchildren.