LOS ANGELES (AP) — Veteran character actor Harold Gould, who played Valerie Harper’s father on television’s “Rhoda” and the con man Kid Twist in the 1973 movie “The Sting,” has died. He was 86.

Gould’s daughter-in-law, Leah Gould, told the Los Angeles Times that he died Saturday of prostate cancer at the Motion Picture and Television Fund retirement community in Woodland Hills.

Gould had a prolific career both on the big and small screens. He appeared in such films as “Harper,” “Love and Death,” “Freaky Friday” and “Patch Adams.”

Slideshow: 2010 Celebrity Deaths

On television, he played Betty White’s boyfriend on “The Golden Girls” and also made guest appearances on “Soap,” “Perry Mason” and most recently “Nip/Tuck.”

He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Lea; his children, Deborah Gould Harris, Joshua Gould and Lowell Gould; and five grandchildren.

(© Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)