His death at age 93 came in New York earlier this month at his Victorian home in Westchester County beside the 11th hole at the Rye Golf Club where he lived since 1969, according to Graham Funeral Home in Rye.
Deadline reported that Cunningham was a prolific Broadway actor who appeared in acclaimed original stagings of “Cabaret,” “Company,” “Six Degrees of Separation,” and “The Sisters Rosensweig.”
Cunningham’s obituary notes that he debuted in 1960 as Zoltan in the international company of “My Fair Lady,” after being selected by Moss Hart before he even had an agent.
His long career included roles such as Nikos in “Zorba,” John Adams in “1776,” Flan Kittredge in “Six Degrees of Separation,” and Captain E.J. Smith in “Titanic.” Off-Broadway, he performed in productions ranging from “Quartermaine’s Terms” to “Painting Churches,” the latter at age 80.
Cunningham built a parallel career in film and television, with standout appearances as Ethan Hawke’s character’s father in “Dead Poets Society” and as Mr. Windsor in “Mystic Pizza.”
He also worked steadily in New York–based TV, appearing in “Law and Order,” “30 Rock,” “The Good Wife,” “Damages,” and several 1970s soap operas. He voiced the “Be A Man” tape in “In and Out” and the newsreel announcer in “Starship Troopers.”
The New York Times once profiled him as an “ever‑reliable and ever‑employed” actor, a description he embraced despite his insistence he had “never worked a day in his life.”
Cunningham was also deeply involved in the Rye community. With fellow actor Frances Sternhagen, he launched “Playwrights and Players,” a series that brought major writers, including Wendy Wasserstein and A.R. Gurney, to the Rye High School Performing Arts Center.
Born in New York’s Hudson Valley in 1932, in Ulster County’s New Paltz, Cunningham attended Dartmouth before serving in the Army. There, he transitioned from battlefield communications to performing in an acting troupe across Europe. He later earned a master’s degree from Yale Drama School, studying alongside friend Dick Cavett.
Cunningham is survived by his wife of nearly 70 years, Carolyn Cotton Cunningham, three children, six grandchildren, two great‑grandchildren, and his caregiver of nearly three years.
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