Actor Paul D’Amato, ‘Wolverine’ Inspiration, Dies at 77 Due to Brain Disease

Actor Paul D’Amato, known for the 1977 film “The Chestnut Shot” and the face that inspired the character of “Wolverine” in the “X-men” comics, has died at the age of 77 at his home in East Brookfield, Massachusetts, due to a brain disease called progressive supranuclear palsy, according to “The Hollywood Reporter.” D’Amato had been fighting this rare disease for more than four years.

It was his role in that classic sports movie, in which he shared a cast with Paul Newman, that inspired the character, as cartoonist John Byrne himself recognized: “He just had that look. He had crazy eyes. And that’s what Wolverine needs to have.” Born in Worcester and later raised in Spencer, Massachusetts, he began working as a stagehand when he was about 14 years old, which inspired him to become an actor.

He was also known for playing a jaded Vietnam veteran in the 1978 film, “Deer Hunter,” opposite Robert De Niro. Although he also played a variety of characters in the television police drama “Law and Order.” His fiancée Marina Re told The Hollywood Reporter that the actor was the “most wonderful, sweetest guy” who fought “very hard” against his illness. In his later years, Paul worked as a boot fitter in a Vermont ski shop.

2024-02-23 14:20:13
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