MONTREAL - Michael Sarrazin, the Canadian actor who rose to fame playing opposite big-screen legends like Paul Newman, Jane Fonda and George C. Scott, has died.
Sarrazin, 70, died Sunday in Montreal surrounded by family after a battle with cancer, Michael Oscars, his agent and friend of 27 years, said Wednesday.
Sarrazin was born Jacques Michel Andre Sarrazin in Quebec City on May 22, 1940. He appeared in films including "Sometimes a Great Notion," "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" and "The Flim-Flam Man," among others.
Major stardom proved elusive. Sarrazin suffered a professional setback in 1969 when he had to give up the role of Joe Buck in "Midnight Cowboy."
His studio wouldn't release him from his contract, his brother said. He had to turn down the part that eventually went to Jon Voight.
