Actor David Ogden Stiers died Saturday.
He was 75.
According to a tweet from his manager,
Mitchell K. Stubbs, Stiers died of bladder cancer in his Newport,
Oregon home.
“I am very sad to report that David
died this morning March 3, 2018 peacefully at his home in Newport,
Oregon after a courageous battle with bladder cancer,” Stiers
wrote. “His talent was only surpassed by his heart.”
Stiers is best known for playing uppity
doctor Major Charles Emerson Winchester III on CBS' long-running
sitcom MASH. He received two Emmy nominations for the role.
He also played the voices of Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast,
the Archdeacon in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Governor
Ratcliffe in Pocahontas.
Stiers came out at the age of 66 in an
interview with gossip-boy.com.
“I am [gay],” he said at the time.
“Very proud to be so.”
Stiers explained that he kept his
sexuality hidden for so long because he feared Hollywood would reject
him: “Even though many have this idealistic belief that the
entertainment industry [is] gay friendly. For the most part they
are, but that doesn't mean for them that business does not come
first.”
Alan Alda, who also starred on MASH,
tweeted: “We love you, David. Goodbye.”