Nicholas Worth, 69; actor often played villains in B movies
Nicholas Worth, 69, an imposing character actor who often played the darkest of villains in such B movies as “Don’t Answer the Phone!” (1980), died of heart failure Monday at Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys, said his friend Jack Stern.
Worth debuted in “For Pete’s Sake” (1966) and appeared in almost 90 films and television productions. He was in “Swamp Thing” (1982), “The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!” (1988) and “Darkman” (1990). He also portrayed a criminal in the ABC movie “The Rape of Richard Beck” (1985).
He was born Sept. 4, 1937, in St. Louis, Miss., to parents who owned a furniture store. At 8, Worth decided to become an actor.
After earning a bachelor’s in fine arts from the Carnegie Institute of Technology, Worth served for three years as an Army paratrooper stationed in Kentucky.
After leaving the service in 1965, he moved to Los Angeles, studied at the Pasadena Playhouse and appeared in local stage productions.
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