Christine Baranski's Husband, Matthew Cowles, Dies at Age 69
Actress Christine Baranski has lost her husband of 30 years to a battle with cancer. Actor Matthew Cowles, best known for his villainous role on "All My Children," died on Thursday at the age of 69.
"Matthew Cowles passed away on 5/22. I had the pleasure of being his manager. He was a very gifted and kind man who loved life and everyone," manager Tsu Tsu Stanton tweeted on Friday.
Cowles played Billy Clyde Tuggle on the long-running soap opera. Tuggle was a complex character who seemed bent on destroying those around him. He ran a prostitution ring, kidnapped Dixie Cooney, planned to blow up a local bridge, and gave powerful drugs to Estelle La Tour. Even though Cowles played an evildoer, co-stars and former writers have expressed how good and kind of a man he was in real life.
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"So sad to hear about the death of Matthew Cowles, #AMC's one and only Billy Clyde Tuggle," tweeted former writer Jean Passanante. "A sweet man and a uniquely talented actor."
Cowles also starred in "The Juror" with Alec Baldwin, who also tweeted his condolences and sadness at the death of his friend.
"Deeply sorry to learn about Matthew Cowles, who I worked with on two films. A great gentleman," Baldwin wrote.
Cowles generally eschewed the limelight, instead choosing to focus on Baranski's career and the lives of their daughters, Isabel and Lily. He was previously married to "All My Children" actress Kathleen Dezina, but they separated and he married Baranski in 1983.
Baranski stars on "The Good Wife" as tough-as-nails lawyer Diane Lockhart. In 2013, Cowles gave an interview in which he bragged about Baranski's performance on the series.
"My wife, Christine Baranski, is a very successful actress," he told Michael Fairman. "She does 'The Good Wife' and she is terrific! Oh my goodness, my wife is a good actress. And … she makes beautiful babies!"
