Michael Jeter

Born: August 26 1952
Where: Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, USA
Died: March 30 2003

The veteran actor first attracted attention as the wimpy assistant coach opposite Burt Reynolds in the US TV series Evening Shade.

Jeter went on to have film roles as a kindhearted mental patient in 1998's Patch Adams, a mouse-loving prisoner in 1999's The Green Mile and a dinosaur-hunting mercenary in 2001's Jurassic Park III.

The slight, balding star discovered his love of acting while studying medicine at Memphis State University.

After graduation, he moved to New York and worked at a law firm while trying to land his first acting job - a small role in Milos Forman's film Hair.

Jeter earned rave reviews for his turn as a homeless cabaret singer in The Fisher King opposite Robin Williams, with whom he starred again in Patch Adams and Jakob the Liar.

Other prominent appearances included True Crime, Air Bud, Mouse Hunt, Waterworld, Drop Zone and Woody Allen's Zelig.

Recent projects included Sam Raimi's The Gift with Cate Blanchett and Dwight Yoakam's South of Heaven.

In 2000, Jeter began his run as the bumbling Mr.

One of his last performances was the incompentent robber Toto in Welcome To Collinwood and he died while completing The Polar Express with Tom Hanks.

Jeter, who revealed in 1997 that he was HIV-positive, died of natural causes aged 50 at his LA home.