Dennis Arndt, the first Tony nominee at 77, died at 86.

Former helicopter pilot Dennis Arndt made his Broadway debut at the age of 77 in the comedy Heisenberg and won a Tony Award nomination when his acting career reached Zenith and passed away on March 25th at his home in Ashland, Oregon.

His wife, Maggie Downey, confirmed his death. She said no particular cause was known.

Arndt built a reputation as a stage actor at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in the 1970s and 1980s. He later became a familiar face in television series such as “LA Law” and “Picket Fences,” and played one of the detectives questioning Sharon Stone in the famous erotic scenes of “The Basic Instinct” (1992).

He first appeared in “Heisenberg,” a two-letter play by Simon Stevens, produced by the Manhattan Theatre Club in 2015 at the City Center studio.

Arndt played Alex, a 75-year-old Ireland-born butcher. He is at a London station when he unexpectedly kisses his neck by Georgie (Mary-Louise Parker), a loud, impulsive and mysterious 42-year-old American. Her boldness sparks romance.

Ben Brantley, who reviewed The New York Times' “Heisenberg,” called Arunt and Parker “the sexiest couple on the New York stage.” He said, “Making what must be the most unlikely and attractive Broadway debut of the year. He lends Roiling at first, and sometimes he lends barely detectable energy to the seeming passivity of a man who is about to cry for reasons that he can't (not) explain.

In an interview with the Times, during the play's run, Arndt spoke relentlessly about the chemistry he felt on stage with Parker, who was appearing on his seventh Broadway show.

“I feel compelled to give her my full attention,” he said. “I see the goddess. I will. I will. I will.”

Parker's Arndt told the Times:

The title of the play is Werner Heisenberg, a Nobel Prize-winning German physicist known for his principles of uncertainty. Although that principle is not mentioned by the characters, his name evokes the unpredictability of their romance.

Arndt was nominated for Tony's Best Actor in his 2017 play, but lost to Kevin Kline. Kevin Kline won the performance in Noel Coward's comedy “Current Laughing.”

When Arndt and Parker recreated their roles at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in 2017, Charles McNulty of the Los Angeles Times wrote:

Dennis Leroy Arndt was born in Clyde, Ohio on February 23, 1939, and later moved to Spokane, Washington, along with his parents and two sisters.

He began acting in high school, but after graduating he joined the Army, where he spent about ten years. He trained as a helicopter pilot and later flew a mission in Vietnam and received two purple hearts when the aircraft was on fire. He enjoyed flying – “You had a machine in your hand, which became an extension of your central nervous system,” he told The Times, who worked as a commercial pilot in Alaska after his discharge.

He studied history at Washington University on the GI bill, but he had not graduated and soon began acting at theatres in Seattle. In the 1970s he formed a long relationship with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland.

“As an actor, he was different in that moment. Every night was different,” said Mark Murphy, who shared the stage with Mr. Aldo in “Hamlet,” “Romeo and Juliet,” and “Two Gentlemen of Verona.”

Arndt led other plays at festivals, including “King Lear,” and Eugene O'Neill's “A Long Day Journey,” and often performed at other theatres on the West Coast. He also appeared in Michael Weller's “The Ballad of Soapy Smith” at the Manhattan Public Theatre in 1984 and “Richard II” at the Dela Corte Theatre in Central Park in 1987.

In 1988 he left the Oregon Festival, where he played Hickey in O'Neill's “Iceman Comet.” He was already working in film and television, but his commitment to the series with stars like Moore was new in his career.

The Oregonia newspaper on Sunday reported that some people at the festival at the time were angry at Arndt's departure. However, he told the newspaper and landing a role in a well-known network series was a reward for his years of stage work. “The idea of ​​being invited to play marble with big kids is something we all aim for,” he said.

(He returned to the Oregon Festival in 2014 as Prospero on “The Tempest” in multiple roles in “The Great Society.”

“Annie McGuire” lasted only 10 episodes, but Arndt soon came regularly on television. He played an attorney in regular roles in “LA Law,” “Picket Fences,” and “The Practice,” and was seen in “Boston Legal,” “Life Goes On,” “Supernatural,” “Gray's Anatomy,” “The Good Fight,” “How To Away To Awate,” and “Mr. Mercedes.”

In addition to his wife, Mr. Arndt has survived the marriage with two daughters, McKenna Rowe and Bryce Brooks and son Tanner Arndt. Three daughters, Tammy, Laurie, Kirsten Arndt and son Scott, have been married to Marjorie Arbeson, which ended in divorce. and many grandchildren, great grandchildren, great grandchildren.

Arndt was not his first choice for “Heisenberg,” but he quickly stepped in when Kenneth Welsh, originally cast in off-Broadway production, left four days before rehearsals began.

“I was prepared for this,” Arndt told the Los Angeles Times. He said, “My insights, chemistry, this woman, her incredible skills – it's fun to use all the tools in my box.”