Laurence Harvey

In both life and death, actor Laurence Harvey commanded a sort of unusual fascination from both the public and press. A strikingly handsome performer, he was also exceptionally cold, occasionally cruel and prone to making statements in the press about his own talents, which were largely underused in his three decades on film, save for a handful of projects like "Room at the Top" (1959) and "The Manchurian Candidate" (1962). In both films, his chilly screen presence made for memorable performances, first as a ruthless social climber in "Room" and later as a brainwashed solder in "Candidate." Before and after these assignments, he languished in low-budget dramas, save for a brief stint at the top of the Hollywood heap in "The Alamo" (1960) and "Butterfield 8" (1960). His luck ran out in the late 1960s, and he languished in obscurity until his death from cancer in 1973. But in the decades that followed his passing, Harvey's legacy and performances - at once riveting and repelling - commanded a small but dedicated cult who celebrated his eccentric star and its sporadic bursts of brilliance.