David Hedison, star of the original The Fly, dies at 92

David Hedison, star of the original sci-fi thriller The Fly from 1958, died Thursday in Los Angeles, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He was 92.

"Even in our deep sadness, we are comforted by the memory of our wonderful father," his family said in a statement published by the media outlet. "He loved us all dearly and expressed that love every day. He was adored by so many, all of whom benefited from his warm and generous heart. Our dad brought joy and humor wherever he went and did so with great style."

In The Fly, Hedison played scientist Andre Delambre, who gets turned into an insect. He famously uttered the line “Help MEEEEEEEEE,” to the shock and horror of audiences.

Born Al David Hedison on May 20, 1927, in Providence, Rhode Island, Hedison attended Brown University and studied acting in New York under Sanford Meisner at The Neighborhood Playhouse and with Lee Strasberg at The Actors Studio. He worked with Uta Hagen and Michael Redgrave in off-Broadway productions by Clifford Odets and Christopher Fry. His big-screen debut was the 1957 World War II naval drama The Enemy Below, starring Robert Mitchum.

After appearing in the 1960 sci-fi action film The Lost World, about an expedition to an island with prehistoric monsters, starring Claude Rains, Hedison later starred in the 1960s ABC submarine drama Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, playing Captain Lee Craine. He then went on to play CIA operative Felix Leiter in two James Bond films: 1973’s Live and Let Die and 1989’s Licence to Kill.

His wife, Bridget Hedison, a producer on Dynasty and its spinoff The Colbys, died in February 2016. He is survived by his daughters Serena and Alexandra, the wife of Jodie Foster.