Beau Starr, known for his roles as Sheriff Ben Meeker in 'Halloween 4' and 'Halloween 5' and in Martin Scorsese's 'Goodfellas,' has died. He was 81 years old. Starr passed away of natural causes at his home in Vancouver, Canada.
Beau Starr died on Friday of natural causes at his Vancouver home, his younger brother Mike confirmed to TMZ. Mike described him as “very unique and special.” Born September 1, 1944, in Queens, New York, Starr initially played professional baseball, including on the New York Jets’ practice squad from 1966 to 1968 and in the Canadian Football League with the Montreal Alouettes and Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He transitioned to acting with his onscreen debut in 1979 on the Canadian sketch show “Bizarre.”Starr gained recognition for portraying Sheriff Ben Meeker in “Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers” (1988) and “Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers” (1989). He also appeared as the abusive father of Ray Liotta’s character in “Goodfellas” (1990). Other film credits include “Fletch” (1985), “Speed” (1994), “Devil in a Blue Dress” (1995), “Cinderella Man” (2005), and “Born on the Fourth of July.”On television, Starr had guest roles in series such as “Psych,” “Knight Rider,” “The A-Team,” “MacGyver,” “TJ Hooker,” “Three’s Company,” “Remington Steele,” “The Fall Guy,” “Night Court,” “Matlock,” “Moonlighting,” “Murder She Wrote,” and “NYPD Blue.” His most prominent TV roles were Lieutenant Harding Welsh on the BBC comedy “Due South,” which ran from 1994 to 1999 for four seasons, and Lieutenant Bill Triplett on NBC’s “True Blue” in 1989.
