Michael Sarrazin, an actor best known for such feature films as Gunfight in Abilene, The Flim-Flam Man and They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? died of cancer April 17, 2011, in Montreal, Canada. He was 70.

In They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, directed by Sydney Pollack, Sarrazin co-starred opposite Jane Fonda as participants in a dance marathon in 1930s Hollywood. The film received nine Oscar nominations and won one for supporting actor Gig Young.

He was born Jacques Michel Andre Sarrazin on May 22, 1940, in Quebec City, and grew up in Montreal. He began acting in high school and moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1960s after signing a contract with Universal.

His other films included Sometimes a Great Notion, The Pursuit of Happiness, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, Harry in Your Pocket, For Pete’s Sake, The Gumball Rally and Joshua Then and Now.

In addition to his film career, he worked extensively in television and earned good reviews for the 1973 made-for-TV movie Frankenstein: The True Story. He also appeared in the miniseries Beaulah Land and such series as Street Legal, Murder, She Wrote, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and others. His last credit was the 2008 television movie The Christmas Choir.

He is survived by two daughters and a brother.