IMPROV KING

‘Blazing Saddles’ Comedian Has Died at 90

The actor, who got his start at famous improv club The Committee, passed away in California.

Beans Morocco, the hilarious actor known for a range of comedies like Blazing Saddles, Used Cars, and Eating Raoul, has died at 90. Morocco, who also starred in a number of television episodes like Mork & Mindy, The Bob Newhart Show, and Growing Pains, carved out a legacy as an improvisation comic and committed actor throughout his life. Morocco died in Bakersfield, California on May 29. His friend Ryan Wise told The Hollywood Reporter that Morocco “was always performing—always entertaining—and he made everyone feel good." His final role was playing an ex-con in the 2024 comedy Killing Cookie, which Wise wrote and directed. Morocco was born Daniel Ernest Barrows in Ohio in 1934. He got his start in the entertainment industry as a member of the famed San Francisco improv group The Committee, which taught iconic performers like Robin Williams. There, he performed alongside the likes of Howard Hesseman, Carl Gottlieb, Peter Bonerz, and Alan Myerson. His film debut was in Billy Jack, a 1971 classic. Since then, he has amassed almost 100 credits as an actor and played in some of the most famous movies of the 80s and 90s. Along with his acting career, he was a former U.S. Navy pilot, local theater actor, and dressed as Santa for kids in his town. He was even elected honorary mayor of Pine Mountain Club, California, where he lived. “Unfortunately, he was quickly impeached… and convinced everyone to storm the gazebo. That was the joke he used to tell,” said Wise.