Mike Nussbaum, Chicago stage actor with film roles including ‘Field of Dreams,’ dies

CHICAGO– Mike Nussbaum, considered the oldest professional actor in the United States with a prolific theater career and roles in films such as “Field of Dreams” and “Men in Black,” has died. He was 99 years old.

He died of old age at his Chicago home on Saturday, just days before his 100th birthday, his daughter, Karen Nussbaum, told The Associated Press.

“He was a good father and a good man who raised us to care about others, respect them and care about justice,” she said.

Mike Nussbaum was recognized by Actor’s Equity Association several times in recent years as the oldest professional actor in the country. When asked about his status as a hard-working nonagenarian over the years, Nussbaum said he simply enjoyed the work.

“I am talented and lucky to be able to do what I have the most fun in life,” he told WBEZ Chicago in 2019, when he was 94 years old. “As long as I can do it, I will do it.”

Born in December 1923 in Chicago’s Albany Park neighborhood, Nussbaum first performed at summer camps. He did not pursue acting full-time until he was 40, working for a time as an exterminator. He received the Equity card from him in the 1970s.

Nussbaum spent more than 50 years on stages in the Chicago area, including the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. He played Shylock in a 2005 production of “The Merchant of Venice” and Gremio in “The Taming of the Shrew,” among many other roles.

In 1984, he won a Drama Desk Award for his performance in David Mamet’s “Glengarry Glen Ross,” which won a Pulitzer Prize that same year. Nussbaum worked frequently with Mamet over the years.

Nussbaum performed into his 90s, including a 2017 role as Albert Einstein in the play “Relativity” at the Northlight Theater in suburban Skokie, where he also briefly served as artistic director.

“His genius was that you couldn’t tell he was acting,” said BJ Jones, a longtime friend and colleague who is currently Northlight’s artistic director. “His level of truth from him was incomparable. He never saw him sweat. He wasn’t trying to draw attention to himself. “

Although he was primarily a stage actor, his film credits included a school principal in “Field of Dreams” and in “Men in Black” as Gentle Rosenberg, whose head opens during a pivotal scene to reveal a small alien creature.

A private funeral is planned. A public memorial service will be held next year.