Actor Joe Seneca Dies From Asthma Attack

Joe Seneca, who turned his work as a song-and-dance performer into an illustrious acting career in serious, acclaimed movies about slavery, black leaders and human dignity, has died.

He died Thursday morning from an asthma attack at his home on Roosevelt Island, said Dulcina Eisen, his agent. She said he was in his late 70s.

Seneca most recently was seen as Reverend Street in the movie “A Time to Kill,” the courtroom thriller from the John Grisham novel. Two weeks ago, he finished filming a movie about slavery for British television called “The Longest Memory.”

His first big film was “The Verdict,” in which he appeared opposite Paul Newman as an inept medical expert in a malpractice trial.