Harvey Atkin

Canadian actor in Meatballs, Cagney & Lacey, and Law & Order

Harvey Atkin, the Canadian actor who played the summer camp director Morty in Meatballs, has died. He was 74.

Atkin’s longtime agent, Larry Goldhar, said that Atkin died on Monday night following a battle with cancer.

Atkin appeared in more than 90 episodes of popular police procedural Cagney & Lacey as Sergeant Ronald Coleman, and he appeared frequently as Judge Alan Ridenour on legal drama Law & Order.

But many knew him best for his breakout role in Ivan Reitman’s 1979 Bill Murray comedy.

His moustached, bespectacled Morty Melnick – a heavy sleeper – was the target of numerous pranks by the camp counsellors. The movie ended with Morty waking up on a raft in the middle of a lake.

Atkin is survived by his wife, Celia, his daughter, Lisa, and his son Danny.