Paul Benedict Found Dead In His Home At Age 70

Paul Benedict, the actor who played the English neighbor Harry Bentley on the sitcom “The Jeffersons,” was found dead Monday at his home on Martha’s Vineyard. He was 70.

His brother, Charles, said authorities were still investigating the cause of death.

Benedict began his acting career in the 1960s in the Theatre Company of Boston, alongside such future stars as Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino.

Benedict went on to appear in a number of movies, including a role as the oddball director in “The Goodbye Girl” with Richard Dreyfuss.  He was also known as the bowler-capped Number Painter from Sesame Street, who started popping up in random places to decorate his surroundings with a big white numeral in 1972.  But he was mainly known for his role as Bentley in “The Jeffersons,” which ran on CBS from 1975 to ’85.  Thanks to that role he was often mistaken for British.

Our hearts go out to his family and friends.