The American actor popularly best as Macy’s co-owner Isidor Straus in the 1997 classic Titanic, Lew Palter died last month at the age of 94.
According to The Mirror, that Palter succumbed to lung cancer on May 21, his daughter Catherine told The Hollywood Reporter, according to New York Post.
He was a familiar face on TV, appearing on “The Flying Nun,” “Columbo,” “The Brady Bunch,” Hill Street Blues” and “LA Law,” among other shows.
He played a Supreme Court Justice in the 1981 comedy-drama “First Monday In October,” starring Walter Matthau and Jill Clayburgh.
He was also a faculty member at CalArts School of Theater.
One of his students, Cecily Strong, paid tribute to Palter on Instagram.
“Lew told me he thought I should take a class at the Groundlings,” she said. “I said no way I’m a serious actor. Turns out Lew was right. I took the class at the Groundlings. It brought me back to Chicago to study improv there. Then I ended up auditioning for Lorne Michaels. Thanks Lew.”
In a memorable scene from the Best Picture Oscar-winning “Titanic,” Straus and his wife stay in bed together rather than try to make an escape from the ill-fated ship while water runs through their room.
“For so many years I got to brag that my teacher was the old guy in Titanic that chose to stay in bed,” Strong posted. “Lew knew how to live life well. How to teach students to be not only better actors but better people.”
Palter, whose wife, Nancy Vawter died in 2020, is survived by his daughter Catherine and grandchildren Sam, Tessa and Miranda.
