A face you know is gone . Actor Ed Lauter may not have been a shooting star , but he was no flash in the pan . After a four decade-long career , Lauter died Wednesday at age 74 of a rare cancer , mesothelioma , caused by asbestos exposure , his publicist said . You may not recognize Lauter 's name , but his long , thin , bald visage has shown up in many places . Often with a stern , squinting mien , other times with a debonaire smile cocked up on the right side of his face . From `` Mannix '' in early 1970 's and on TV regularly since then , Lauter played detectives , sheriffs or mobster heavies . You 're likely to have caught him in small roles in TV shows such as `` Kojak , '' `` Charlie 's Angels , '' `` Magnum P.I. , '' `` Miami Vice , '' `` The X-Files , '' `` Law and Order , '' `` ER , '' and `` Grey 's Anatomy . '' The list goes on . One of his biggest roles was that of Captain Knauer in the movie `` The Longest Yard '' with Burt Reynolds . And more recently , you may have seen him in the Oscar winning movie `` The Artist , '' in the role of Peppy 's butler . Lauter seemed to have been the opposite of the out-of-work actor , in demand for roles up to the end . He shot three movies that have yet to be released . So it looks like you may be seeing him again sometime in the next two years . He leaves behind a wife and four children . People we lost in 2013 .
His career spanned four decades from 'Mannix ' to 'The Artist ' He has often played sheriffs , heavies , cops . He seemed to be the opposite of the out-of-work actor . He shot movies due to come out in the next two years , so you may see him again .