Earl Boen, best known for portraying a disbelieving psychologist in James Cameron’s first two “Terminator” films, has died at 81, according to multiple media reports.
Boen, a New York native, passed away Thursday in Hawaii. A cause of death has not been reported, but a friend of the actor told Variety that he was diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer in late 2022.
A longtime performer with nearly 300 film, television and video game credits, Boen is best known for playing Dr. Peter Silberman in James Cameron’s first “Terminator” movie. The cynical Dr. Boen had little time for Kyle Reese’s (Michael Biehn) grim warnings about a nuclear holocaust and resulting human-vs.-robot future war.
Boen reprised in “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” as Dr. Silberman became a now-institutionalized Sarah Connor’s (Linda Hamilton) in-patient shrink. He would again survive the ensuing carnage, even coming face-to-face Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T-800 and thus proof of cyborg assassins. The character would briefly reappear in “Terminator: Rise of the Machines” in 2003 and “Terminator: Dark Fate” in 2019.
Born in 1941 in New York City, his other credits include “Battle Beyond the Stars,” “The Man with Two Brains,” “Alien Nation,” “Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult” and “Nutty Professor II: The Klumps.” His work as a video game voice-over artist began in the early 2000s, including the “Call of Duty” series and “Tales of Monkey Island,” and ran all the way up to “World of Warcraft: Legion” In 2016 and “Girls Mode 4: Star Stylist” in 2017.
Boen is survived by his wife, Cathy, his stepdaughter Ruby, and his grandchildren Kimmy Abaricia and Kimo Harbin. His first wife, Carole Kean, who was also an actress, passed away in 2001 at age 58 following a short battle with ovarian cancer.
TMZ was the first to report this news.
