Actor Paul Benedict has died at 70 (Mr Bentley on The Jeffersons)...

[Dennis Donovan]

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2008/12/04/paul_benedict_70_actor_at_home_in_tv_sitcoms_modern_and_classical_dramas/

In an acting troupe that included Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, and Al Pacino, the person who stood out more than any other in the Theatre Company of Boston during the 1960s was Paul Benedict. The long-jawed actor who found a touch of menace in the most comic parts and a touch of the absurd in the most serious roles, was found dead Monday at 70 of unknown causes on Martha's Vineyard.

Mr. Benedict, who also acted locally with the American Repertory Theatre, would have his own share of success on television and in the movies, playing the English neighbor Harry Bentley on the CBS series "The Jeffersons" from 1975 to 1985. He also appeared in the Christopher Guest comedies "This Is Spinal Tap," "Waiting for Guffman," and "A Mighty Wind."

His long face was, in part, a result of acromegaly, a pituitary disorder that was first diagnosed by an audience member, an endocrinologist, at one of his Theatre Company performances.

Theatre Company founder David Wheeler, who directed Mr. Benedict there and at ART and remained a close friend, recalled the joy he spread. "From the point he came into the theater, it was one continuous round of laughter," Wheeler said yesterday. "My wife, Bronia, would always ask him to tell her a joke before he got off the phone, and then break up in laughter."
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Cross gently, Mr Bentley... (I think he's appreciate the rhyme.;))