Spider-Man and Spaghetti Western actor Jack Betts has died at the age of 96.
The Hollywood veteran, who befriended Everybody Loves Raymond star Doris Roberts and whom he went on to share a home with, died in his sleep at his house in Los Osos, California, on Thursday.
Born in Miami, Florida, in 1929, Mr Betts studied theater and first began his career in a Broadway adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Richard III.
He would go on to play an array of debonair characters across TV shows and movies, including cameos in Batman Forever in 1995 and Batman & Robin two years later.
But it was his performances as Hunt Powers across a swathe of Italian Spaghetti Western films that immortalised him on the big screen.
He first appeared as the gun-slinger in Franco Giraldi’s Sugar Coat in 1966 after bluffing his way into contention for the starring role.
And after finding success, it would be the first of around 12 consecutive films in which Mr Betts held it – a run that ended in 1972.
Despite worldwide recognition for his performances, his films at that time did not air in the US or Canada – a problem made all the more difficult due to the stardom of his hotel neighbour.
Jack Betts (centre) has died at the age of 96 (Pictured in the 2002 release of Spider-Man with Willem Dafoe, right)
Mr Betts, who befriended Everybody Loves Raymond star Doris Roberts (left) and whom he shared a home with, died in his sleep on Thursday
Mr Betts studied theater and first began his acting career on Broadway – but it was his performances in Italian Spaghetti Western films that immortalised him on the big screen
He told The Dev Show in 2021: ‘In the hotel next to mine was Clint Eastwood,’
‘He’d go up to his mountain and do his Western and I’d go up to my mountain and do my Western. But while his films had distribution all over the world, my films were distributed [everywhere] except Canada and America.’
When returning home from Italy, Mr Betts turned his hand to Broadway again where he starred as Dracula between 1977-80.
In the years after, he appeared on many TV shows, including a lengthy run as Dr Ivan Kiping in the series, One Life to Live, which ended in 1985.
Three years later, Mr Betts accepted Ms Roberts’ invitation to move from his place in New York and into a downstairs apartment in her Hollywood Hills home.
After Ms Roberts’ death in 2016, Mr Betts said the pair were ‘best friends to the very end’ and that they had ‘wonderful times together’.
When returning home from Italy, Mr Betts turned his hand to Broadway again where he starred as Dracula between 1977-80
In the years after, he appeared on many TV shows, including a lengthy run as Dr Ivan Kiping in the series One Life to Live which ended in 1985
In 1988, Mr Betts accepted Ms Roberts’ invitation to move from New York and into a downstairs apartment in her Hollywood Hills home
They even shared the screen when Mr Betts appeared in an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond in 1999.
He also made fleeting appearances in shows such as Seinfield, Frasier, Friends and Power Rangers.
In Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, his character played a pivotal role after telling Norman Osborn, played by Willem Dafoe, that he was ‘out’ at his company.
This spurred Osborn onto become the Green Goblin, who would later return and kill Mr Betts’ character, Henry Balkan, and his fellow Oscorp businessmen.
News of his death has touched movie fans, who have taken to social media to share their tributes.
One wrote: ‘Well shoot, another Hollywood gunslinger rides into the sunset. Jack Betts was one of those actors who could make even a B-movie feel like an A-list production.’
Another added: ‘RIP to a legend. Jack Betts brought so much to the screen – from gritty westerns to comic book charm.’
