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Ed Williams dead: The Naked Gun icon dies aged 98 months after ex co-star Diane Keaton

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Ed Williams, the best-loved actor known for his infamous role in the Naked Gun film series, has died at the age of 98, his granddaughter confirmed. On Thursday (October 16), his granddaughter Stephanie Williams confirmed the star passed away on October 2 in the heart of Los Angeles to The Hollywood Reporter. A familiar face to millions of fans, Williams first shot to fame when he took on the role of the dead-pan scientist Ted Olson in Police Squad!

He often shared the screen with Leslie Nielsen in the police comedy, which became a cult-favourite ABC series. He later reprised the role of Ted Olson in the blockbuster Naked Gun movies, where his "scientific demonstrations" became a fan-favourite running gag.

Away from his comedy work, Williams was often cast as a man of the cloth on the big screen, playing reverends, priests, and ministers throughout his decades-long career.

One of his memorable roles came in the 1991 romantic comedy, Father of the Bride, in which he officiated the wedding of Annie Banks (played by Kimberly Williams) and Bryan MacKenzie (George Newbern) in the much-loved romantic comedy. He also shared the screen with Steve Martin and Diane Keaton, who died of pneumonia at the age of 79 last week.

His warm screen presence and comedic timing made him the perfect cameo in both film and television for more than four decades/ A cause of death has not yet been released.

This is a breaking showbiz story, the Express Showbiz team will be updating this story with the latest information as soon as we receive it. For further updates, please refresh the page

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