Actor Gary Graham, who starred on the Fox science fiction television franchise, Alien Nation, and on Star Trek: Enterprise, died on Monday at the age of 73.
Graham died of cardiac arrest at a hospital in Spokane, Washington, according to his wife, Becky Graham, who told the Hollywood Reporter.
The actor was perhaps best known for playing detective Matt Sikes in Alien Nation, as well as the Ocampan community leader, Tanis, in the Star Trek universe.
Graham also portrayed a sleazy dealer of porn films the 1979 thriller, Hardcore. He was also the older brother of Tom Cruise’s character in the 1983 film, All the Right Moves.
Notably, Graham was also an inaugural writer at Andrew Breitbart’s first website, Big Hollywood.
The actor was born in 1950 in Long Beach, California. He started appearing on television in the mid-1970s on shows like Eight Is Enough, Starsky and Hutch, and Police Woman, before eventually catching big break in Hardcore.
Graham’s first wife, actress Susan Lavelle, took to Facebook on Monday to announce that the actor’s death “was sudden.”
“It is with deep profound sadness to say that Gary Graham, my ex husband, amazing actor and father of our beautiful only child together, Haylee Graham, has passed away today,” Lavelle wrote.
“We are completely devastated especially our daughter Haley. His wife, Becky was by his side,” Lavelle continued.
Graham’s ex-wife, who noted that she had met him when she was 20-years-old, added, “Gary was funny, sarcastic sense of humor but kind, fought for what he believed in, a devout Christian and was so proud of his daughter, Haylee.”
“This was sudden so please pray for our daughter as she navigates through this thing called grief,” Lavelle said.
“Fly high into the heavens Gar! Thank you for our journey and thank you for the gifts you left me in acting, my love of horses and most importantly, our daughter,” Lavelle concluded in her post.
Graham is also survived by his daughter, Haley, and his sisters Colleen and Jeannine.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and X/Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.