Max Cantor

Max Cantor
Max Cantor
	Cantor in 4th grade, 1969
Born	Michael Cantor; May 15, 1959; New York City, U.S.
Died	October 3, 1991 (aged 32); New York City, U.S.
Alma mater	Harvard University
Occupation(s)	journalist and actor
Years active	1983–1989
Father	Arthur Cantor

Michael "Max" Cantor (May 15, 1959 – October 3, 1991) was an American journalist and actor in films such as Dirty Dancing (1987) and Fear, Anxiety & Depression (1989).

Biography

Cantor's father was the theatrical producer Arthur Cantor. He grew up in the Dakota Apartments on West 72nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. Cantor attended Collegiate School but graduated from Buxton School in Williamstown, Massachusetts. He spent his summers until age 14 at Camp Hillcroft in Billings, New York, alongside fellow campers such as the children of American Federation of Teachers president Albert Shanker and actor Burt Lancaster. At camp, he won top roles in Winnie the Pooh and The Velveteen Rabbit. Cantor was a 1982 graduate of Harvard University, where he lived in Adams House and starred in several productions by student director Peter Sellars.

Career

Cantor wrote for The Village Voice about ibogaine as a cure for heroin addiction,^[1] and had taken an interest in the cult surrounding East Village cannibal/murderer Daniel Rakowitz.^[1]

Death

He died from a heroin overdose at the age of 32. At the time he died, he was conducting research and writing a book about Rakowitz and the murder of dancer Monika Beerle.^[1]^[2]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1983	Diner	Shrevie	TV Short
1987	Dirty Dancing	Robbie Gould
1989	Fear, Anxiety & Depression	Jack	(final film role)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Marcus, Anthony (2006). Where Have All the Homeless Gone?: The Making and Unmaking of a Crisis. Berghagen Books. p. 123. ISBN 9781845450502.
^ Aronowitz, Al (June 2, 2002). "Column 72: The Strange Case of Max Cantor". the Blacklisted Journalist.