Walter Charles

{{Short description|American actor and singer (1945–2023)|bot=PearBOT 5}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2020}}

Walter Charles (born Walter Charles Jacobsen; April 4, 1945 – August 3, 2023) was an American actor and singer.

Charles made his Broadway debut in Grease in 1972. Additional Broadway credits include 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (1976), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979), Cats (1982), La Cage aux Folles (1983), Me and My Girl (1987), Aspects of Love (1990), Kiss Me, Kate (2000), The Boys from Syracuse (2002), Big River (2003), The Woman in White (2005), The Apple Tree (2006) and Anything Goes (2011). He also originated the role of Ebeneezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in 1994. He played Max von Mayerling in the Toronto production of Sunset Boulevard in 1995. He reprised the role of Judge Turpin in the 2002 Kennedy Center and 2004 New York City Opera productions of Sweeney Todd.[http://www.playbillvault.com/Person/Detail/70192/Walter-Charles "Walter Charles Broadway"]

playbillvault.com. Retrieved November 6, 2015[https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/walter-charles-74355 Walter Charles IBDB] ibdb.com. Retrieved January 23, 2024[https://www.abouttheartists.com/artists/4630-walter-charles Walter Charles Theatre Credits] abouttheartists.com. Retrieved January 23, 2024

Charles' screen credits include A Fine Mess, Fletch Lives, Weeds, and Prancer. On television he appeared in Cagney and Lacey, Kate and Allie, Law & Order, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

Walter Charles died of complications from frontotemporal dementia on August 3, 2023, at the age of 78.{{cite news |last1=Wild |first1=Stephi |title=Broadway Alum Walter Charles Dies at 78 |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Broadway-Alum-Walter-Charles-Dies-at-78-20230804 |access-date=6 August 2023 |publisher=Broadway World |date=3 August 2023}} He is survived by his wife, Leslie Thompson.[https://www.dickenfuneralhome.com/obituary/Walter-Charles Walter Charles]