Character actor Luke Askew has passed away at the age of 80.
He died at his Lake Oswego, Oregon home after a long battle with ill health on 29 March (12).
Francis Luke Askew first attended the University of Georgia and honed his acting skills in several Off-Broadway plays.
He later made his feature film debut alongside Michael Caine and Faye Dunaway in Hurry Sundown and he subsequently played a sadistic prison guard in Paul Newman's Cool Hand Luke.
He also took on the role of Sergeant Provo in John Wayne's The Green Berets but Askew is perhaps best known for portraying the wayward stranger who led Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper to a hippie commune in 1969 classic Easy Rider.
Askew additionally appeared in several hit TV shows throughout his career, including Walker, Texas Ranger, MacGyver, The Six Million Dollar Man, Everwood, and most recently Big Love.