LOS ANGELES Character actor John Vernon, who played the tormented Dean Wormer in "National Lampoon's Animal House," has died in Los Angeles. He was 72.
His daughter, Kate Vernon, says her father died at home of complications from recent heart surgery.
"Animal House," starring John Belushi, is one of the most popular comedies ever made. Vernon's character, Dean Wormer, is obsessed with trying to expel the hard-partying college boys at the Delta fraternity house.
Vernon studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and appeared on stage and T-V in his native Canada.
After appearing on Broadway in "Royal Hunt of the Sun," Vernon began a steady film career, appearing in 1967's "Point Blank," and two films featuring Clint Eastwood: 1971's"Dirty Harry," and, in '76, "The Outlaw Josey Wales."
