Jake Dengel, a veteran character actor, died Monday at the Group One Hospice in Sherman Oaks, Calif. He was 61 and lived in Los Angeles.
The cause was cancer, said Roy Brocksmith, a friend.Dengel's first break in the theater came when he was chosen by John Gielgud to play Puck in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the Ontario Shakespeare Festival. His Broadway credits include "The Changing Room" and "Royal Hunt of the Sun."
He also appeared in numerous regional theater productions and most recently played opposite Judd Hirsch in "Conversations With My Father" in Los Angeles. He was seen on such television shows as "L.A. Law," "Cagney and Lacey," "Hill Street Blues" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation." He also had parts in "Ragtime," "Ironweed" and other motion pictures.