John Phillip Law, Hollywood actor, dies

LOS ANGELES, May 17 (UPI) -- John Phillip Law, who appeared opposite Jane Fonda in the 1968 science fiction fantasy "Barbarella," has died at age 70.

Law's ex-wife, Shawn Ryan, announced his death, the Los Angeles Times reported. She said he died Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles.

No cause of death was disclosed.

Law, the son of a Los Angeles sheriff's deputy and an actress, became interested in acting after taking some classes at the University of Hawaii. He moved to New York and studied with director Elia Kazan at the Lincoln Center Repertory Theater.

Norman Jewison cast Law in his first major role in a U.S. movie, as a Soviet submariner in the 1966 film "The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming." Two years later, Law played Pygar, an angel who accompanies Fonda around the universe in "Barbarella."

Law had a number of other major roles before starring in "The Love Machine," based on a Jacqueline Susann novel, which became a major flop. He continued to work steadily in both movies and television.

In the 1960s, Law and his brother, Tom, were also known for renting rooms in their Las Feliz mansion to future pop icons like Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol and Tiny Tim. The house was known as The Castle.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International