Emmy-Winning Actor Jeter Dies
By Joal Ryan

Tom Hanks' Polar Express pulled to a stop Monday, mourning the passing of one of its own.

Michael Jeter, the Emmy- and Tony-winning character actor who costars in the upcoming, Hanks-produced adaptation of the children's classic, died over the weekend at his Hollywood Hills home, his publicity firm announced Monday. He was 50.

Cause of death was not known. In 1997, Jeter disclosed he had tested positive for HIV (news - web sites), the virus that causes AIDS (news - web sites).

Per the statement from Jeter's publicist, the actor had completed work on The Polar Express, "with the exception of a few shots that will be filmed with a stand-in."

The Polar Express is an ambitious Yuletide movie, mixing CGI animation and live action, undertaken by Hanks, who also stars as the conductor, and director Robert Zemeckis. The film is scheduled for a 2004 release.

Out of deference to Jeter, production on Polar Express was suspended Monday.

Jeter leaves behind a wealth of posthumous work. He also appears in Open Range, a western directed and starring Kevin Costner, due out later this year, and worked up until his death on PBS' Sesame Street, where he endeared himself to a new generation as Mr. Noodle's brother, the so-called "other" Mr. Noodle.

The diminutive actor, who played everything from the frazzled, dying numbers-cruncher of Broadway's Grand Hotel to a condemned killer of The Green Mile, first found coast-to-coast fame in the 1990-94 Burt Reynolds sitcom, Evening Shade.

The role of Herman Stiles, a high-school math teacher enlisted to help jock Reynolds coach the football team, brought Jeter three consecutive Emmy nominations. He claimed the statuette for his own in 1992, named Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

Jeter also earned Emmy nods for guest-star work on Chicago Hope and Picket Fences.

Born August 26, 1952, in Tennessee, the onetime medical student made his Broadway debut in 1978. In 1990, he won the Tony for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for Grand Hotel. Jeter later showed off his song-and-dance chops in the 1991 film The Fisher King, in which he played a cabaret crooner.

Going public with his HIV diagnosis didn't appear to hinder the steady business that was Jeter's career. He racked up roles in everything from Robin Williams' Patch Adams to Clint Eastwood's True Crime. He joined the cast of Sesame Street in 2000 and went summer blockbuster as a baddie in 2001's Jurassic Park III.

At a 1997 symposium on AIDS sponsored by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Jeter talked openly about his HIV status and showed off the pillbox that contained his medicine.

"We have lost innumerable and valuable human resources to this disease," Jeter said, per POZ magazine. "It is my honor to be part of the television community because as the medium which has the resources and scope to reach the entire planet, we have the greatest opportunity to affect change."

Survivors include Sean Blue, Jeter's partner.

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Truly a gifted actor... RIP.

so sad to hear.