Elmore Rual Rip Torn Jr February 6 1931 July 9 2019 was an American actor whose career spanned more than 60 years He was best known for his roles as Zed in the Men in Black franchise 19972002 and Patches OHoulihan in Dodgeball A True Underdog Story 2004 Torn received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 1983 film Cross Creek His work includes the role of Artie the producer on The Larry Sanders Show for which he was nominated for six Emmy Awards winning in 1996 Torn also won an American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Male in a Series and two CableACE Awards for his work on the show and was nominated for a Satellite Award in 1997 as well