William Lucking, the actor best known for his role as biker Piney Winston on the hit series “Sons of Anarchy,” died on Oct. 18 in his Las Vegas home. Lucking was 80.
“Although William often played toughs and strongmen, in his actual life he was an elegant man with a brilliant intellect who loved to argue about politics and current affairs, discuss philosophy and physics and assert fine-pointed opinions about art and poetry,” his wife Sigrid Insull Lucking wrote in an obituary posted on Facebook by his friend and fellow actor Stephen Macht.
Lucking famously played SAMCRO member Piermont “Piney” Winston on 35 episodes of Kurt Sutter’s FX crime drama “Sons of Anarchy,” from the start of the series through the fourth season (2008 to 2011).
Some more of Lucking’s most notable roles include Army Col. Lynch on “The A-Team” from 1983 to 1984, as well as Bajoran Furel on three episodes of “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” from 1995 to 1997. He is also known for his portrayal of a roughneck alongside Faye Dunaway and George C. Scott in “Oklahoma Crude” (1976), as well as appearances in the movies “The Magnificent Seven Ride!” (1972), “The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder” (1974), “The Return of a Man Called Horse” (1976), “The River Wild” (1994), “Erin Brockovich” (2000), “The Rundown” (2003), “The World’s Fastest Indian” (2005) and “Contraband” (2012).
Lucking was born in Michigan in 1941 and moved to California with his family in the early 1950s. After graduating from UCLA with a degree in literature, he completed advanced studies in theatre arts at the Pasadena Playhouse.
Lucking is survived by his wife of 25 years, as well as his daughters, Marjet Lucking and Juliana Ryan, and Ryan’s husband and two daughters, Quinlan and Lilian. He’s also survived by his sister, Ellen Fournier.