Oldest Professional Actor Mike Nussbaum Dies At Age 99

Mike Nussbaum, named the oldest professional actor in America, has died at the age of 99.

Nussbaum died of old age at his home in Chicago just days before his 100th birthday.

Mike Nussbaum has been recognized multiple times over the years by the Actors’ Equity Association as the oldest professional actor in the country. 

Nussbaum appeared on Broadway in the original 1984 production of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross. Nussbaum also directed the 1982 Broadway production of Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?.

Nussbaum's acting career started in community theater in the 1950s. In the 1960s, he was active in a developing professional theatrical community in Chicago, meeting a young David Mamet in the process. He appeared in many of Mamet's plays both on and off Broadway, as well as in Chicago.

His film credits include Field of Dreams, House of Games, Things Change, Fatal Attraction and Men In Black.

Nussbaum also appeared in local TV commercials for Chicago's Northwest Federal Savings(with the jingle, "It's Northwest Federal Savings time, sixty-three hours a week"). He also did national commercials for United Airlines and Scope mouthwash.