US actor Ron Carey dies aged 71

Ron Carey also appeared in several Mel Brooks films

US actor Ron Carey, who was best known for appearing in the TV comedy series Barney Miller, has died aged 71.

Carey, who played the recurring role, officer Carl Levitt from 1976 to 1982, died of a stroke on Tuesday in Los Angeles, a family spokesman said.

He also appeared in several Mel Brooks movies, including High Anxiety and History of the World Part I.

In a statement Brooks said he was, "truly talented, very funny and one of the dearest men I've ever worked with."

Carey also played a Boston cab driver in the 1970 Jack Lemmon comedy, The Out of Towners, and appeared in scores of commercials.

He was proud of being a supporting player and a character actor.

"Stars are stars," he told Newsday in 1989. "But without us, the show wouldn't go on."

Born, Ronald Joseph Cicenia in 1935, in New Jersey, Carey launched his stand-up comedy career in New York.

In 1956 he earned a degree in communications and a decade later he made his first national TV appearance on The Merv Griffin Show.

Carey is survived by his wife, Sharon, and his brother, Jimmy Cicenia.