Val Avery, a popular character actor of stage and screen, has died at age 85. The New York City resident passed away in his Greenwich Village apartment. Avery was a familiar face to all movie goers in the 60s and 70s. Some of his roles were bit parts, but others were more prominent. He played the corset salesman whose determination to see an Indian get buried with dignity on Boot Hill sets up the first action confrontation in
The Magnificent Seven. In the 1971 film
The Anderson Tapes,Avery played the dumb but brutal racist thug 'Socks'. For more on his life and career
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