'Homeland' actor James Rebhorn dies at 65

Indiana native appeared in 'Scent of a Woman,' 'Seinfeld'

3/23/2014

NEW YORK — James Rebhorn, the prolific character actor whose credits included Homeland, Scent of a Woman and My Cousin Vinny, has died. He was 65.

Rebhorn’s agent, Dianne Busch, said Sunday that the actor died Friday at his home in South Orange, N.J, after a long battle with skin cancer.

Busch said Rebhorn was diagnosed with melanoma in 1992 but managed to work until the last month.

In five decades of television and film work, Rebhorn amassed more than 100 credits, ranging from a shipping magnate in The Talented Mr. Ripley to the prosecutor in the series finale of Seinfeld, in which he famously sent the group to jail.

The lanky but piercing Rebhorn, raised a Lutheran in Indiana, often played astringent authorities, like the headmaster in Scent of a Woman or the Secretary of Defense in Independence Day.

On Homeland, he played the father of Claire Danes’ CIA officer Carrie Mathison. He also had a recurring role on the USA Network series White Collar playing the FBI head of a white-collar crime unit.

Other credits of the Philadelphia-born Rebhorn, who received his masters in acting from Columbia University, include The Game, Real Steel, Law & Order, Carlito’s Way and Meet the Parents.

Rebhorn also frequently worked in theater, starring on Broadway in revivals of Our Town, 12 Angry Men, and the original 1985 production of I’m Not Rappaport.

He is survived by his wife, Rebecca Linn, and two daughters.