Donald Sutherland Dead At 88

LOS ANGELES — Hollywood legend Donald Sutherland has died, his son, actor Kiefer Sutherland, announced Thursday in a social media post. He was 88.

"With a heavy heart, I tell you that my father, Donald Sutherland, has passed away," Kiefer Sutherland posted on X.

"I personally think one of the most important actors in the history of film. Never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly. He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more than that. A life well lived."

Deadline reported that Donald Sutherland died in Miami.

Sutherland's career in TV and film dates back to the 1960s and he appeared in nearly 200 shows and movies, according to IMDb, including "The Dirty Dozen," "M.A.S.H.," "Kelly's Heroes" and "Animal House." He was more recently known for playing President Snow in "The Hunger Games."

He never retired, working regularly up until his death. A memoir, “Made Up, But Still True,” was due out in November.

Before he died, Sutherland told the Los Angeles Times he always found it hard to look back and watch his own films.

“I have to be truthful — I am still looking forward when I look back. All I see are mistakes,” he told the Times. “When you are working on a picture, all of your concentration, all of your intensity is directed toward the heart of it, to such a degree it burns inside of you. Then after it’s over, it’s gone.”

Fans and colleagues took to social media with outpourings of support and to share memories.

"RIP Donald Sutherland, 88. One of my all-time favourite actors who played so many great roles," Piers Morgan posted on X. "What a sad loss."

"One of the greatest actors cinema has ever seen," actor Chad Lindberg said in a post on X. "Rest in peace, Donald Sutherland. His performance in BACKDRAFT was one of my favorites of his. He left behind such an amazing body of work."

"Donald Sutherland, 1935-2024. Raising a glass to a giant," actor and director Nicholas Pegg posted on X.

Born in St. John, New Brunswick, Donald McNichol Sutherland was the son of a salesman and a mathematics teacher. Raised in Nova Scotia, he was a disc jockey with his own radio station at the age of 14.

Sutherland began as an engineering student at the University of Toronto but switched to English and started acting in school theatrical productions. While studying in Toronto, he met Lois Hardwick, an aspiring actress. They married in 1959, but divorced seven years later.

After graduating in 1956, Sutherland attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts to study acting. Sutherland began appearing in West End plays and British television. After a move to Los Angeles, he continued to bounce around until a series of war films changed his trajectory.

His breakout came when he was cast in 1967's "The Dirty Dozen" as Vernon Pinkley. "M.A.S.H." and "Kelly's Heroes" followed in 1970.

One of his finest performances came as a detective in Alan Pakula's "Klute" in 1971. It was during filming on "Klute" that he met Fonda, with whom he had a three-year-long relationship that began at the end of his second marriage to actor Shirley Douglas. Having been married in 1966, he and Douglas divorced in 1971.

Sutherland had twins with Douglas in 1966: Rachel and Kiefer, who was named after Warren Kiefer, the writer of Sutherland's first film, "Castle of the Living Dead."

In 1974, the actor began living with actress Francine Racette, with whom he remained ever after. They had three children: Roeg, born in 1974 and named after the director Nicolas Roeg ("Don't Look Now"); Rossif, born in 1978 and named after the director Frederick Rossif; and Angus Redford, born in 1979 and named after Robert Redford.

Donald Sutherland was overlooked by the Academy Awards throughout most of his career. He was never nominated but was presented with an honorary Oscar in 2017.

In the last decade, Sutherland increasingly worked in television, most memorably in HBO's "Path to War," in which he played President Lyndon Johnson's Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford. For a career launched by "M.A.S.H." it was a fitting, if ironic, bookend.

The Associated Press and City News Service contributed to this story.