Actor Pat Hingle, Batman commissioner, dies at 84
Last Updated: Monday, January 5, 2009 | 10:51 AM ET
CBC News
Pat Hingle, shown in 2007, died after battling blood cancer. (The Wilmington Star-News/Associated Press)Pat Hingle, a veteran actor whose career included a recurring role as Commissioner Gordon in several Batman movies in the 1990s, has died at 84.
Family friend Michele Seidman says Hingle died at his home in Carolina Beach, N.C., shortly after 10 p.m. Saturday. He had been battling blood cancer.
Family spokeswoman Lynn Heritage said Hingle was diagnosed with myelodysplasia in November 2006.
His career on the stage and in movies and television spanned six decades.
Born Martin Patterson Hingle in 1924, he went to the University of Texas on a tuba scholarship. He would serve in the U.S. navy during the Second World War and return to finish a degree in broadcasting.
Hingle became a member of the legendary Actors Studio — known for teaching method acting, which required performers to use their own emotions and experiences to portray a character.
Hingle would go on to earn a Tony nomination Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1958). Film roles included On the Waterfront, Hang 'Em High and Norma Rae.
Hingle was also a guest star in many TV series, including Touched by an Angel, Murder She Wrote, Homicide: Life on the Street, Wings and Cheers.
His last movie was Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006).
Hingle is survived by his wife, Julia, five children and 11 grandchildren.
