House of Cards actor Dan Ziskie was announced to have died on Monday, July 21, in New York. He was 80.
His family confirmed the news, and his cause of death was from arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
“Dan was a man of remarkable talent and a keen observer of life,” they wrote. “He was as vibrant and multifaceted as the characters he portrayed on stage and screen.”
The Detroit native played NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue in Peter Landesman’s Concussion, with his other works including O.C. and Stiggs, Chris Columbus’ Adventures in Babysitting, Roger Donaldson’s Thirteen Days, and Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York.
He made a career for himself playing government officials on-screen. His biggest claim to fame was playing the recurring role of Vice President Jim Matthews in Netflix’s House of Cards from 2013 until 2017. Ziskie has also played U.S. Senators in CBS’s Person of Interest, NBC’s The Blacklist, and an attorney general in the fifth-season finale of Fox’s 24.
Besides House of Cards, Ziskie also became known for his role as Liquori in the HBO series Treme for three seasons. Some would recognize him for portraying the character Frank Niggar in the sketch comedy, Chappelle’s Show.
The actor was born in Detroit on Aug. 13, 1944. He excelled in track and field in high school before going to the University of Michigan to earn a bachelor’s degree in English.
Ziskie later moved to Chicago and worked as a journalist before joining the Second City comedy troupe. In the early 1970s, he worked with comedians like John Belushi and Joe Flaherty.
In 1984, he started his movie career with Very Close Quarters before getting roles in movies like Last Holiday, War of the Worlds, Step Up 3D, and Mercy. In 1987, he got his first TV role in The Equalizer as a detective before appearing in series like Law & Order, The West Wing, The Good Wife, and Blue Bloods.
Ziskie is survived by his brother David, his sister-in-law, Cynthia, and his nephews, Jesse, Brett, and Austin, and their six children.
