Lew Palter, Titanic Actor, Dies at 94

Actor Lew Palter has died. Per THR, Palter passed away on May 21 of lung cancer at his L.A. home with his daughter, Catherine Palter, now sharing the sad news with the press. He was 94 years old.

Palter also worked as a beloved acting teacher and director at CalArts from 1971 to 2013. During that time he provided guidance to many big stars, such as Ed Harris and Don Cheadle. Palter also tutored Cecily Strong, personally encouraging her to try out for The Groundlings, which led to her rise to fame on Saturday Night Live. Palter’s daughter Catherine says that, as a teacher, her father “seemed to have truly changed people’s lives.”

“Lew loved the craft of acting and taught his students to do the same. He fostered deep curiosity, care, intellect and humor in every scene, play and class,” adds CalArts School of Theater Dean Travis Preston. “He had the utmost respect of his students and encouraged all to find truth in their work and lives.”

Born Leon Louis Palter on Nov. 3, 1928, Palter began his show business career on the stage before making his on-screen debut in the TV series Run for Your Life in 1967. From there, he’d appear in many other popular television shows, such as The A-Team, Charlie’s Angels, Baretta, Columbo, Gunsmoke, Mission: Impossible, The Six Million Dollar Man, Kojak, The Doris Day Show, and The Brady Bunch. Perhaps his best-known TV role was as Detective Clark in the TV series Delvecchio alongside Judd Hirsch.

In film, Palter would appear in movies like The Steagle and First Monday in October. His most well-known role is in the smash hit Titanic, one of the highest-grossing movies of all time which returned to theaters for its 25th anniversary earlier this year. In the movie, Palter and Elsa Raven (who died in 2020) respectively played Isidor and Ida Straus. The two were real-life Titanic victims who went down with the ship, and according to the UK government’s National Archives, Isidor refused to board a lifeboat, despite his wealth, as there were still women and children on the Titanic. Ida stayed with her husband, offering her fur coat to their maid, who boarded one of the lifeboats and survived.

Related: Titanic Resurfaces at Netflix in July, Sparks Criticism on Social Media

Lew Palter’s Big Scene from Titanic Was Cut

There was a scene featuring Isidor, with Palter in the role, refusing to board the lifeboat, just as he had done in real life. However, this scene was cut from the theatrical release of the film. Palter’s Isidor and Raven’s Ida are still shown in the film in a haunting but memorable shot of water filling up their quarters as the two cuddle in bed, awaiting certain doom.

Oddly enough, the scene has a connection to the recent OceanGate submersible disaster. The Titanic tourist sub, which imploded on its way to the sunken ship, was piloted by OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush. His widow, Wendy Rush, is the great-great-granddaughter of Isidor and Ida Straus.

Palter was previously married for 64 years to actress Nancy Vawter; she died in 2020. His survivors include his daughter, Catherine, as well as grandchildren Sam, Tessa, and Miranda. Our thoughts go out to them at this time. Rest in peace, Lew Palter.