(Los Angeles) American actor Dean Stockwell, figure of the television series Quantum leap in the 1990s and familiar face of Hollywood for decades, died at the age of 85, his agent announced.
Son of actors, Dean Stockwell began to perform at the age of seven, in a musical with Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra, Anchors Aweigh (Stopover in Hollywood).
During his long career he has notably appeared in classics like Paris, Texas by Wim Wenders in 1984 and in the adaptation of Dune by David Lynch the same year.
Dean Stockwell reunited with David Lynch and Kyle MacLachlan for the film Blue Velvet where he sang pre-recorded on the song In Dreams by Roy Orbison.
He was then shortlisted for the Oscars thanks to his role as mafia godfather Tony Russo in the comedy Married to the Mob (Widow but not too much) alongside Michelle Pfeiffer.
His most mainstream role will certainly have been his character of Al, who appears as a hologram in the series. Quantum leap (Quantum code) to help the scholar played by Scott Bakula in his temporal wanderings.
This role had earned him a Golden Globe and four Emmy nominations.