American stage and screen actress Penelope Milford , who was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1979 for her role in Hal Ashby’s “ Coming Home ,” died Tuesday in Saugerties, N.Y. She was 77.

Her death was confirmed by her brother Doug Milford. A cause was not immediately available.

Milford’s professional career on the New York stage began in 1971 where she co-starred opposite Richard Gere in an Off-Broadway production of “Long Time Coming and a Long Time Gone,” based upon the life of musician-novelist Richard Farina.

In 1972 Milford made her Broadway debut in Julian Barry’s Tony Award-winning play “Lenny.” Three years later Milford received a Drama Desk Featured Actress in a Musical nomination for “Shenandoah.”

In that same period, Milford began appearing in films,

See Full Page