‘Hunger Games’ and ‘M*A*S*H’ actor Donald Sutherland dead at 88

Legendary Canadian actor Donald Sutherland, who starred in ‘The Hunger Games,’ ‘M*A*S*H’ and ‘Ordinary People,’ among others, has died after a long illness, his family says. He was 88 years old.

“With a heavy heart, I tell you that my father, Donald Sutherland, has passed away,” his son Kiefer Sutherland wrote on X. “I personally think one of the most important actors in the history of film. Never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly. He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more than that. A life well lived.”

Missy Davy, of Los Angeles-based talent agency CAA, said Sutherland died in Miami on Thursday. She provided no specific details about the cause of his death, except to say that he died after a long illness.

Sutherland is survived by his wife Francine Racette, sons Roeg, Rossif, Angus, and Kiefer, daughter Rachel, and four grandchildren. A private celebration of life will be held by the family, Davy said.

Born in Saint John, Canada in 1935, Sutherland’s break-through performances in the 1967 film “The Dirty Dozen” and Robert Altman’s “M*A*S*H” catapulted him into the public eye.

Throughout his six-decade-long career, the renowned actor starred in iconic films as “Klute,” “Kelly’s Heroes,” “Don’t Look Now,” “Ordinary People,” “JFK,” “The Eye of The Needle,” “Fellini’s Casanova, “1900,” “The Hunger Games” series, and “Ad Astra,” among others. In 2017 he received an Honorary Award from the Academy.

Sutherland also won a Golden Globe for the television movie “Path to War” and both an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe for his performance in the mini-series “Citizen X.”  His extensive TV credits also included “The Undoing,” “Trust,” “Lawmen: Bass Reeves,” “Dirty Sexy Money,” and “The Pillars of the Earth,” along with many others.

With a heavy heart, I tell you that my father, Donald Sutherland, has passed away. I personally think one of the most important actors in the history of film. Never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly. He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more… pic.twitter.com/3EdJB03KKT

— Kiefer Sutherland (@RealKiefer) June 20, 2024