A big, beefy and imposing hulk of a man, Worth was often cast as extremely nasty and intimidating villains. Character actor Nicholas Worth was born on September 4, 1937 in St. Louis, Missouri. After earning a bachelor's in fine arts from the Carnegie Institute of Technology, he served for three years as an Army paratrooper stationed in Kentucky. After leaving the service in 1965, he moved to Los Angeles, studied at the Pasadena Playhouse and appeared in local stage productions. Worth made his film debut in For Pete's Sake! (1966). He then had small parts in such movies as Der Schrei des Todes (1973), Der Killer im Kopf (1974), Coma (1978) and Die Faust (1979) making an especially funny appearance in the latter as a gay blank check dropper rugged bounty hunter John Saxon tosses into a pool. Worth gave a wonderfully wild, intense and inspired performance as a deranged, impotent, misogynistic Vietnam veteran porno photographer who brutally strangles lovely young ladies in the splendidly sleazy psycho gem Todesschrei am Telefon (1980). Worth was likewise quite chilling and unforgettable as a vicious homosexual criminal in the outstanding made-for-TV drama Rape - Die Vergewaltigung des Richard Beck (1985). Worth's other memorable roles include Louis Jourdan's moronic henchman Bruno in Das Ding aus dem Sumpf (1982), Larry Drake's mean flunky Pauly in Darkman (1990), Craig T. Nelson's chauffeur in Action Jackson (1988), an antagonistic bully Clint Eastwood beats up in a jail cell in Heartbreak Ridge (1986), a ruffian enforcer for Ricardo Montalban in Die nackte Kanone (1988), a mutant humanoid frogman in The Hunter - Ein erbarmungsloser Jäger (1988), a foul sex offender in Zeit der Rache (1985), and a transvestite in Zwei Unter Volldampf (1986). Among the TV shows Worth did guest spots on are Star Trek: Raumschiff Voyager (1995) and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), Akte X: Die unheimlichen Fälle des FBI (1993), Harrys wundersames Strafgericht (1984), Das Model und der Schnüffler (1985) (in which he sings and dances with Bruce Willis!), Fame - Der Weg zum Ruhm (1982), Macgyver (1985), The Greatest American Hero (1981), Knight Rider (1982), Hunter (1984), Simon und Simon (1981), Fantasy Island (1977), Drei Engel für Charlie (1976), Detektiv Rockford - Anruf genügt (1974), Quincy (1976), Starsky und Hutch (1975), Baretta (1975), and Cannon (1971). On stage Worth performed in everything from Shakespeare to musical comedies. A sweet and gentle man in real life (he's a born-again Christian), Worth was also an avid power-lifter and bodybuilder. More recently Worth lent his distinctive growly voice to several video games. Nicholas Worth died at age 69 from heart failure on May 7, 2007.
