Tom Ligon, ‘Bang the Drum Slowly,’ ‘Young and the Restless’ actor, dies at 85

Actor Tom Ligon, who portrayed a backup catcher in “Bang the Drum Slowly” and Lucas Prentiss in the soap opera “The Young and the Restless,” has died. He was 85.

The veteran actor’s death was announced on Friday by the New York chapter of SAG-AFTRA, according to The Hollywood Reporter. No cause of death was given.

Ligon played backup catcher Piney Woods and sang the cowboy ballad “The Streets of Laredo” in the 1973 film “Bang the Drum Slowly,” which starred Robert De Niro and Michael Moriarty.

Ligon also had a supporting role in the 1969 film musical, “Paint Your Wagon,” which starred Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood, Deadline reported.

In the television soap “The Young and the Restless,” Ligon was involved in a love quadrangle from 1978 to 1983, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

In 1969, Ligon also starred on Broadway in “Angela” with Geraldine Page and “Love Is a Time of Day” with Sandy Duncan, the entertainment news outlet reported.

Thomas Bryant Ligon was born in New Orleans on Sept. 10, 1940, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He attended St. Albans School in Washington and then Yale University.

He graduated from college as an English major in 1962 and pursued acting in New York City, where he shared a $25-a-month sublet in Greenwich Village with another young actor, Sam Waterston, the entertainment news outlet reported.

Ligon also appeared in the films Joyride (1977) and “Cutting Class” (1989) -- his son in the latter movie was played by a young Brad Pitt, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Deadline reported that Ligon had guest roles on television series such as “Medical Center,” “Baretta,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “Police Woman,” “Starsky & Hutch,” “Baa Baa Black Sheep,” “Dallas” and “Law & Order.”

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