NATION : Actor Jack Gilford Dies at 81

Jack Gilford, a sad-eyed comic, dramatic actor and vaudevillian who shone in featured roles on stage, television and movies, died at his Manhattan home this morning, a spokeswoman said. He was 81.

Gilford died after a long struggle with stomach cancer and had last been hospitalized two weeks ago, according to Merle Debuskey, a family friend and publicist. He was at his Greenwich Village home with his actress wife, Madeline Lee, when he died about 8 a.m., Debuskey said.

Gilford was twice nominated for Tony awards in Broadway musicals--as Hysterium, the slave who ends up in drag in “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” and as Herr Shultz in “Cabaret.” He was Hysterium again in the film version of “Forum.”

His most recent film role was in “Cocoon.” Other movie roles include parts in “Save the Tiger,” “Enter Laughing,” and “The Happening.”