Stacy Keach dies at 85: AP reports actor’s death in Poland after heart illness

November 11, 2026

Actor Stacy Keach—widely associated with TV detective Mike Hammer—died Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026, at 85, the Associated Press reported. AP said his wife, Malgosia Tomassi Keach, stated he died at home in Magdalenka, Poland, after a long battle with severe heart disease and heart failure.

Stacy Keach, the American stage and screen actor closely associated with television’s Mike Hammer, has died, the Associated Press reported. AP said Keach died Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026, at the age of 85.

According to AP, details about the circumstances and health context came from a statement by his wife, Malgosia Tomassi Keach. AP reported that Keach died at home in Magdalenka, Poland.

Confirmed details reported by AP

Date: Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026
Age: 85
Place: At home in Magdalenka, Poland (as reported by AP, citing his wife’s statement)
Health context: His wife described “a long and difficult” battle with severe heart disease and heart failure, AP reported

Wire pickups carrying the same AP report, including ABC News, repeated those core details.

Known for Mike Hammer, with a long career across stage and TV

In AP’s account of his career, Keach was best known to a broad television audience for playing private detective Mike Hammer, a role that helped define his public image as a tough, hard-edged leading man. AP described him as a stage-trained actor whose intensity carried into his screen performances.

AP background: a 2017 onstage collapse in Chicago

As biographical context, AP noted that Keach had a serious medical emergency in June 2017, when he collapsed on stage in Chicago during a show; AP reported the incident as a heart attack/collapse and said it was tied to a production that was later canceled.

AP background: the 1984 UK cocaine-smuggling case

AP’s obituary also revisited a major professional setback from earlier in Keach’s life. According to AP, in 1984 his career was nearly derailed after he was imprisoned in the United Kingdom in connection with attempted cocaine smuggling.

The AP report and its wire pickups form the basis for the confirmed details above, including the date and location of Keach’s death and the family-attributed description of his long heart-related illness.