Sullivan saw Slap Shot (1977) for the first time decades after its release. He was reportedly so upset he had portrayed such a nasty character that he regretted taking the part.
A reliable player of stoic, military types on stage, he was best remembered, however, for his despicable bad guys on film, his standout roles included a hired killer in The Sting (1973), as crude and vulgar hockey player Mo Wanchuck in Slap Shot (1977) and as Nick Nolte's terrifying monster of a father seen in flashbacks in The Prince of Tides (1991).
A Korean War veteran who saw action in the early 1950s, Sullivan attended the University of Maine in the mid-1950s. He had originally planned to study agriculture but once there discovered his love of acting.
Suffered from severe hearing loss in later years.
Made his off-Broadway debut in "Red Roses for Me" in 1961, and went on to appear in the London, England company of the musical "South Pacific".
Born in Chicago but raised in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Sullivan was the youngest of three siblings. He had one sister, Mrs. Marcia Tuttle, and one brother, Winthrop Sullivan.