Actor Richard Farnsworth dead in apparent suicide

Sullivan said Farnsworth was found dead at the residence he shared with his companion, Jule Vanvalin.

"The lady who lives with him heard a gunshot a little after five P.M. Tonight and she went into the room and saw him," Sullivan said. "She called a neighbour, who was one of my former deputies. … He went over and found Mr. Farnsworth."

"This was an obvious self-inflicted gunshot," Sullivan added.

Farnsworth’s weathered face and crystal blue eyes earnedhim roles in some of Hollywood’s most popular movies but aside from Straight, he was mostly relegated to supporting roles.

He played the sheriff in "Misery" in 1990 and had roles in "The Getaway" (1994), "Havana" (1990), "The Natural" (1984), and "Comes a Horseman" (1978), for which he received a best-supporting actor Academy Award nomination.

In Canada, he was nominated for that country’s best actor award for his role in the 1982 film, "The Grey Fox."

Farnsworth was born on Sept. 1, 1920 in Los Angeles and began his film career at the age of 16 as a stuntman. For 40 years he doubled for Roy Rogers and other Western stars but gradually began earning roles in his own right.