Pat Hingle, a veteran stage and film actor battling myelodysplasia, blood cancer or disorder, died in North Carolina, aged 84.

A University of Texas graduate, Hingle appeared in over 20-Broadway productions, playing Gooper in the original 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' production, including 'J. B.', 'Strange Interlude', a 1965 revival of 'The Glass Menagerie', 'The Price', 'The Odd Couple', 'That Championship Season' and the Roundabout Theatre Company's 1997 revival of the musical '1776', in which he played the role of Benjamin Franklin.

He also received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play for 'The Dark at the Top of the Stairs'.

He not only worked extensively in regional theatre like the 2002 Bay Street Theatre production of 'Our Town', but he also appeared in numerous films and television series like 'All The Way Home', 'Hang 'em High', 'Norma Rae' and 'Batman'. His early films were 'On the Waterfront' (1954) and 'No Down Payment' (1957).

More recently, he played J. Edgar Hoover in 1992's 'Citizen Cohn', including father to Warren Beatty in the 1961 film 'Splendor in the Grass'. Beginning 1989, he began to star in Batman movies as Police Commissioner Gordon.

Married to Alyce F. Dorsey, his first marriage ended in divorce. He is survived by his wife, Julie, Hingle, two sisters - Jamie Petty and Joyce France, children Bill Hingle, Jody Smith and Molly Mantione; stepchildren Katherine Joy and Gregory Swanson; including 11-grandchildren.