Thor Arngrim, a talent manager whose career spanned several decades, died December 16, 2009, in Vancouver, British Columbia. According to news reports, he had battled Parkinson’s Disease.

Born Wilfred James Bannin on November 25, 1928 in Regina, Saskatchewan, he started as an actor and founded the Totem Theatre of Vancouver in 1951.

He later moved to New York, where he appeared in such Broadway productions as Tamburlaine the Great and the Tony-winning production of Luther, starring Albert Finney and produced by David Merrick.

He later began representing talent as a personal manager, with clients such as Liberace, Susan Anton, Peter Jurasik, Michael Ontkean and Debbie Reynolds. He also represented his son, Stefan Arngrim, known for the role of Barry Lockridge in Land of the Giants, and daughter, Alison Arngrim, who played Nellie Oleson in Little House on the Prairie.

Arngrim was married to voice-over performer Norma Macmillian, who voiced such characters as Casper the Friendly Ghost and Gumby. She died in 2001.

He is survived by his children.