Nicky Katt, 'Boston Public' and 'Dazed and Confused' star, dies at 54: Reports

USA Today

14-04-2025

Nicky Katt, 'Boston Public' and 'Dazed and Confused' star, dies at 54: Reports
Nicky Katt, a prolific character actor who starred on "Boston Public" and made frequent supporting appearances in many other shows and films, has died, according to reports. He was 54.
Katt's attorney, John Sloss, confirmed news of his death to The Hollywood Reporter and Variety on Saturday. A cause was not provided.
USA TODAY has reached out to Sloss for confirmation.
Katt starred as geology teacher Harry Senate on "Boston Public," the drama series set in a Boston public high school, for three seasons.
The actor was a regular presence on the big and small screen, usually as supporting characters. Katt got his start as a child, and his first credit was an episode of "Fantasy Island" from 1980, the year he turned 10, according to IMDb. He had a role in "Gremlins" four years later.
Katt went on to portray bully Clint Bruno in director Richard Linklater's classic comedy "Dazed and Confused," and he worked with Linklater again on several subsequent movies, including "SubUrbia" and "School of Rock." Christopher Nolan also used Katt in two of his movies; the actor played a detective in "Insomnia" and a member of a S.W.A.T. team in "The Dark Knight."
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Other movies to feature Katt include "A Time to Kill" and "Sin City," and he starred opposite Vin Diesel and Giovanni Ribisi in 2000's crime-thriller "Boiler Room." On the television side, Katt also had roles in episodes of shows from "The Facts of Life" to "Friends." His most recent credit was for a 2018 episode of the Hulu series "Casual."
In a 2002 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Katt said he strived to be different in every role he plays, so much so that his friends sometimes see his movies and don't recognize him.
"That happened with 'A Time to Kill,'" he told the outlet. "I had a very small part (as a racist rapist). People said, 'I'm sorry you got cut out of the film.' I said, 'No, I was the fat guy!'"