Ricky Jay, Master Magician and Boogie Nights Actor, Dead At 72

Beloved actor and legendary magician Ricky Jay passed away Saturday in Los Angeles. His manager, Winston Simone, said he died of natural causes.

Jay, 72, was once dubbed “the most gifted sleight of hand artist alive,” although he is perhaps more widely known for his Hollywood career. Jay had a series of memorable roles in films by David Mamet, played Kurt Longjohn in Paul Thomas Andersons Boogie Nights, and starred as the villain opposite Pierce Brosnan in 1997s Tomorrow Must Die. He also had a fruitful TV career, playing Eddie Sawyer and writing an episode for HBOs critically-acclaimed Deadwood.

Hollywood responded with an outpouring of love and grief—remembering Jays film roles, talent for magic, and incredible spirit.

Jay will be remembered, too, for the incredible work he did behind the scenes, where he used his mastery of magic tricks to consult on films like Oceans Thirteen, The Illusionist, and, most recently, Mission: Impossible—Rogue Nation. (He designed the wheelchair that hid Gary Sinises legs in Forrest Gump.) His abiding love of magic, which he began practicing at age 4, was recounted in the 2014 documentary Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay. Its a must-watch for those who want to get to know the magician behind the actor, whose passion for the craft lives on in the colleagues and films he inspired.

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