Chad Everett: Actor who worked with David Lynch

Chad Everett, the blue-eyed star of the 1970s television series Medical Center who went on to appear in such films and TV shows as Mulholland Drive and Melrose Place, died on 24 July at the age of 75 after suffering from lung cancer. Everett played the sensitive doctor Joe Gannon for seven years on Medical Center, a role which earned him two Golden Globes and an Emmy nomination.

With a career spanning more than 40 years, Everett guest-starred on such TV series as The Love Boat, Murder, She Wrote and Without a Trace. He had most recently appeared in the TV series Castle. His film credits included The Jigsaw Murders, The Firechasers and Gus Van Sant's art-remake ofAlfred Hitchcock's Psycho.

Everett was born Raymon Lee Cramton in South Bend, Indiana, and graduated from Wayne State University before moving to Los Angeles and becoming a contract player with MGM, changing his name apparently because of the unconventional spellings of his real name.

In perhaps his most memorable recent film role, Everett played a lothario who engages in a steamy audition with a young ingenue played by Naomi Watts in David Lynch's surreal psychological thriller Mulholland Drive. Watts said: "What an extraordinary character! I don't know if it was his TV training, but there was never a single moment where he was missing a beat. He was just on. I felt completely safe with the way he was working."

Everett is survived by two daughters and six grandchildren. He was married to the actress Shelby Grant for 45 years until her death last year.