'Mike Hammer' and 'Bourne Legacy' star Stacy Keach Dead Aged 85 After Battling Serious Heart Condition
'Mike Hammer' star Stacy Keach has passed away aged 85 after battling a serious heart condition.
Nov. 11 2026, Updated 9:03 a.m. ET
Mike Hammer star Stacy Keach has died aged 85, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The actor, who also appeared in Bourne Legacy and Prison Break, passed away "peacefully" in Poland, according to his wife Malgosia Tomassi.
'His Passing Leaves An Immeasurable Emptiness In Our Lives'
Keach's wife Malgosia Tomassi paid tribute to late star.
The actor had been battling a serious heart condition.
Tomassi said in a statement: "Stacy was not only a legendary actor, admired and loved by audiences the world over, but also my beloved husband, my companion and the heart of our family.
"His passing leaves an immeasurable emptiness in our lives.
"But his extraordinary spirit, his unforgettable voice and the love he gave so generously will remain with us forever."
As well as appearing in blockbuster movies and TV series, Keach also enjoyed a successful stage career, often starring in Shakespearean works such as King Lear and Hamlet.
'Serious Health Issues Started In 2017'
Keach suffered a heart attack on stage.
But Keach's most prominent role was Mike Hammer, the hard-boiled detective, clad in fedora and trenchcoat, in television adaptations of the works of suspense writer Mickey Spillane.
He was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2019.
Keach's health issues came to prominence two years earlier after suffering an apparent heart attack on stage on opening night of Pamplona, a one-man play about Ernest Hemingway in his later years, that forced the cancellation of the show's run.
He also suffered a mild stroke in 2009 during a run of Frost/Nixon but returned to the stage 10 days later.
Bullied For Having Cleft Lip And Palate During Childhood
Keach says teasing surrounding his appearance was a motivator.
Keach was born June 2, 1941, in Savannah, Georgia, and grew up in Southern California.
As a child he underwent several surgeries for a cleft lip and cleft palate.
"Only when I was maligned and teased by kids did it bother me," Keach told Fox News.
"I became an overachiever as a result of that. I had to excel in sports to make up for that. It was a motor. It gave me an incentive to do better."
For some roles, the scar on his lip was concealed by a moustache, but in a 2016 interview with the Cleft Palate Foundation, Keach said he preferred to let it show when he was in a tough-guy role, such as a mobster.
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Keach was married four times.
He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and also studied at the Yale School of Drama and was a Fulbright Scholar at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
In the foreword of Keach's memoir All in All, actor Alec Baldwin described the actor as "a miraculous hybrid of the hyper-masculinity of a Brando or Robert Mitchum and the classical training of Richard Burton or Kevin Kline."
Keach is survived by Tomassi, a Polish-born actress who appeared with him in various Hammer shows.
He was married three times previously and had a years-long relationship with singer Judy Collins in the ’70s.
