Another Great Character Actor Has Left Us

"Old School's" Blue Dies

By Josh Grossberg

You're our boy, Blue, and we'll miss you.

Patrick Cranshaw, a veteran character who racked up five decades' worth of credits but none more indelible than his turn as elderly frat boy Joseph "Blue" Palasky in the 2003 comedy hit Old School, has died. He was 86.

He died at his home in Fort Worth, Texas, of natural causes last Wednesday, his personal manager, Jeff Ross, told the Los Angeles Times.

Eagle-eyed moviegoers have spotted the thespian's distinct mustachioed mug popping up in dozens of high-profile pictures and TV series over the years.

He played the bank teller in 1967's Bonnie and Clyde; the hobo in 1985's Pee-Wee's Big Adventure; the ancient mail sorter in 1994's The Hudsucker Proxy; the grandpa in 1996's Everyone Says I Love You; the millionaire dog owner in 2000's Best in Show and the demolition derby owner in last summer's Herbie: Fully Loaded. He also appeared as a regular for two years on Alice and had guest stints on such shows as The Dukes of Hazzard, Mork & Mindy, ER, The Drew Carey Show, 7th Heaven, Just Shoot Me and Monk.

But it was Cranshaw's hilarious performance as the decrepit frat brother in Old School opposite Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell and Vince Vaughn that made him a cult icon.

In the film, Blue's most memorable moment comes as he's about to wrestle two topless women. As he glimpses the buxom beauties, he gets so excited he dies of a heart attack. Ferrell's character, emotionally devastated by the loss, later delivers a stirring eulogy at his fallen housemate's funeral, crooning "Dust in the Wind" and crying out dolefully, "You're my boy, Blue!"

That line became immortalized by Old School aficionados, who created Website shrines dedicated to Cranshaw and would shout out the phrase whenever they spotted him in public--capped by a stadium full of baseball fans chanting the line when the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels invited him to a game.

"It was a great experience and an acknowledgment for him," Ross told the Times. "He loved the recognition and would turn back and say, 'I'm your boy, Blue.' "

Born in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, on June 17, 1919, Cranshaw embarked on an acting career after entertaining the troops with the Army Air Forces before World War II. His big-screen résumé also included parts in Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band (1978), Private Eyes (1981), Moving (1988), and Bubble Boy (2001). His final film appearance will come in Air Buddies, a comedy due out later this year.

Cranshaw is survived by three children, Jan Ragland, Joe Cranshaw and Beverly Trautschold; his sister, Billy Vi Gillespie; six grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

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