Joseph Ruskin | Film, TV actor, 89

Joseph Ruskin, 89, a film, TV, and stage actor, died last Saturday of natural causes at UCLA Santa Monica Hospital.

Mr. Ruskin garnered 124 television credits, including in Mission: Impossible and Star Trek, and appeared in 25 films, among them The Magnificent Seven and Prizzi's Honor.

His last performance was on the stage this year in the Anteus Theatre Company's production of The Crucible.

Mr. Ruskin was born in Haverhill, Mass. He studied drama at Carnegie Mellon University and began his professional acting career at Pittsburgh Playhouse and the Rochester Arena Stage before finding success in television.

He served as the Screen Actors Guild's first national vice president for eight years. - AP