Edward Albert, the actor-environmentalist, who won a Golden Globe for his poignant performance as the blind youth who befriends Goldie Hawn in Butterflies Are Free (1972), died on September 22 of lung cancer at his Malibu home. He was 55.

Born in Los Angeles, California on February 20, 1951, he was the son of film and television veteran Eddie Albert (Green Acres) and actress-dancer, Margo. He made his film debut opposite Anthony Perkins in the unsettling Civil War drama The Fool Killer (1965), but put his acting career on hold for his University studies, which included stints at Oxford and UCLA. A break from his academics found him in the role of Don, a young blind man struggling for independence from his overbearing mother (Oscar®-winner Eileen Heckart) in Butterflies Are Free. Radiating intelligence and sensitivity, Albert's acting wowed critics and earned him a Golden Globe for most promising male newcomer.

He would perform in several films over the next few years: 40 Carats (1973) opposite Liv Ullmann; The Domino Principle (1977) with Candice Bergan; the unsuccessful "Jackie O" biopic The Greek Tycoon (1978); the campy disaster flick When Time Ran Out... (1980) co-starring Paul Newman; and the cult Pia Zodora vehicle Butterfly (1982). Sadly, the quality of these movies was variable, but even if his film work during this period was undistinguished, it took a back seat to Albert's much lauded and appreciated activism that occupied his life from the '80s. In recent years, he served on both the California Coastal Commission and the state's Native American Heritage Commission; led the preservation of Escondido Canyon; worked extensively with Plaza de la Raze, the multidisciplinary cultural arts center in Lincoln Heights that was co-founded by his mother, Margo (who was born in Mexico City); and campaigned much on behalf of the rights for Native Americans in Southern California.

In the last few years, his acting work was varied and interesting, Shirley MacLaine's selfish son in Guarding Tess (1994); recurring roles in the television shows Port Charles and Power Rangers Time Force; and in 2003, he co-starred in Cesar and Ruben a musical about the life of United Farm Workers leader Cesar Chavez written and directed by actor-activist Ed Begley Jr., at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood. Still, his personal life was devoted to caring for his father, who had Alzheimer's disease and died in 2005 at age 99. He is survived by his wife, actress Kate Woodville; their daughter, Thais; and his sister, Maria Zucht.

by Michael T. Toole