‘Scarface,’ ‘Ghostbusters II’ and ‘Ozark’ actor dies at 87. He was just cast in series filming in N.J.

Harris Yulin, an Emmy-nominated actor whose career spanned more than 50 years, has died.

Yulin, 87, died of cardiac arrest Tuesday in New York, his family announced Wednesday, per Deadline.

The actor was known for movies including “Scarface” and “Ghostbusters II,” in addition to TV series like “Ozark” and “Frasier.”

Before his death, Yulin, a Los Angeles native, was set to star in the upcoming MGM+ series “American Classic,” which stars Kevin Kline and Laura Linney and is filming in New Jersey.

“American Classic” co-creator Michael Hoffman remembered Yulin Wednesday.

“Harris Yulin was very simply one of the greatest artists I have ever encountered,” he said in statement shared with Deadline. “His marriage of immense technique with an always fresh sense of discovery, gave his work an immediacy and vitality and purity I’ve experienced nowhere else. And what he was as an actor, he was as a man, the grace, the humility, the generosity. All of us at ‘American Classic’ have been blessed by our experience with him. He will always remain the beating heart of our show.”

READ MORE: Kevin Kline, Laura Linney filming comedy series in N.J. What is ‘American Classic’?

Yulin was set to play Linus Bean, father to Kline’s character in the show. Kline stars as Richard Bean, a Broadway actor who has a meltdown and comes home to the town of Millersburg, where his father founded a local theater.

Yulin had his own career on Broadway.

His credits include “Watch on the Rhine” (1980), “A Lesson from Aloes” (1980), “The Visit” (1992), “The Diary of Anne Frank” (1997), “The Price” (1999) and “Hedda Gabler” (2001).

He was nominated for a Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for his performance as Mr. Van Daan in “The Diary of Anne Frank.”

Yulin played crooked cop Mel Bernstein in Brian De Palma’s “Scarface” (1983) opposite Al Pacino. He was also Marty Heller in “Night Moves” with Gene Hackman (1975).

In “Ghostbusters II” (1989), Yulin played Stephen Wexler, a fiery judge who, after reaming out the Ghostbusters and ruling that they be sent to Rikers Island, faces a ghostly attack from the spirits of the Scoleri brothers, criminals he sent to the electric chair.

In 1996, Yulin was nominated for an Emmy for outstanding guest actor for playing Jerome Belasco, a man with a mob connection on “Frasier.”

Yulin had a recurring role as Buddy Dieker in the first two seasons of the Netflix series “Ozark” in 2017 and 2018.

In a career with a sea of screen credits, Yulin’s other movies included “Multiplicity” (1996), “The Hurricane” (1999), “Training Day” (2001) and “The Place Beyond the Pines” (2012).

He appeared on many TV series, including “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “24,” “Entourage,” “Nikita,” “Murphy Brown,” “Billions,” “Veep” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.”

Yulin is survived by his wife, Kristen Lowman.

Thank you for reading. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.

Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com and followed at @AmyKup on Twitter/X, @amykup.bsky.social on Bluesky and @kupamy on Instagram and Threads.