'Blue Velvet' star George Dickerson dies at 81

George Dickerson, who played police detective John Williams in David Lynch's bizarre crime drama 'Blue Velvet', has died. He was 81.
His son and Finnish film writer-director Dome Karukoski, announced on Facebook.
Dickerson, who also had a recurring role as Police Commander Swanson in the first season of the acclaimed 1980s NBC cop drama 'Hill Street Blues', died on January 10 after a long illness, Karukoski said.
Before turning to acting, Dickerson worked as a magazine writer, poet, editor and playwright.
Dickerson had been living in New York.
His son's 'Heart of a Lion' played at the recent Palm Springs International Film festival, and another of his features, 'The Grump', screened at the Toronto Film Festival in September.