Meridian native and actor Elliott Street, who later in life helped organize local film festivals and offered advice to young thespians entering the business, has died at the age of 80.
According to a Friday morning post to the Facebook page of Merrystreet Players, a theatrical performing arts troupe in Meridian of which Street was a member, he died Thursday night.
“As an actor, writer, director, artist, advocate, visionary, mentor, and friend, he was an inspiration to so many,” according to the post.
Born in Meridian on Dec. 30, 1943, Street grew up to become both an actor and writer.
Between the late 1960s and early 1980s, he made guest appearances on some of the most popular TV shows of the time, including “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Mayberry RFD,” “Hawaii Five-O,” “CHiPs,” “Barnaby Jones,” “The Rockford Files,” “Eight is Enough,” “Ironside,” “Love, American Style” and “Hunter.” He appeared in the TV mini-series “The Winds of War” and “Chiefs,” as well as the TV movies “Resting Place,” “Unconquered” and “The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang.”
Even after he returned home to Meridian to live, Street continued his acting career and went on to appear in several Hollywood films, including “The Bear” with Gary Busey in 1984, “The Legend of Bagger Vance” with Will Smith and Matt Damon in 2000, “Runaway Jury” with John Cusack, Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman in 2003 and “Last Vegas” with Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas and Morgan Freeman in 2013.
Feeling to need to share his experiences with other budding actors, Street taught theater and speech at Meridian Community College and was a member of the Mississippi Arts Commission touring artist roster. He became a passionate advocate for historic preservation in the Queen City and served as executive director of the Grand Opera House Revitalization Project.