ACTOR Ben Gazzara, known for his brooding tough-guy presence in dozens of films, TV shows and stage productions, died of pancreatic cancer in a Manhattan hospital on Friday, his lawyer said yesterday.

The New York-born performer, who was 81, played Brick in the original Broadway production of Tennessee Williams' Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, directed by Elia Kazan.

He went on to star in several of John Cassavetes films, and played the role of a porn film producer in the Coen Brothers' 1998 cult classic The Big Lebowski.