Dan Seymour; Abdul the Arab in ‘Casablanca’

Dan Seymour, a hefty character actor best known for his role as Abdul the Arab, who guarded the door to Rick’s casino in the 51-year-old classic film “Casablanca,” has died. He was 78.

Seymour, who liked to reminisce about the Humphrey Bogart film at the Casablanca bar and restaurant in Venice, died Tuesday at St. John’s Medical Center in Santa Monica. He died of complications from a stroke he suffered two months ago, his son Jeff said Wednesday.

A native of Chicago, Seymour began his career as a song and dance comic in burlesque theater and nightclubs in New York. But when he moved to Hollywood, the burly 250-pound actor was quickly cast as a villain, which he played in most of his 70 films and 300 television roles.

The nasty characters “are a lot of fun,” he once told an interviewer. “I’ve always enjoyed doing villains.”

In addition to “Casablanca,” Seymour worked in other Bogart classics, including “To Have and Have Not” in 1944 and “Key Largo” in 1948. He frequently helped “Bogie” play practical jokes on the set, and once convinced a terrified novice actor that Bogart would fire real bullets during the filming of “Key Largo.”

Far better-natured in person than the villains he portrayed, Seymour believed that joy was a major tool of the acting trade.

“Once you have fun doing a part,” the perennial bad guy said, “you breathe life into a character.”

His other movies include the 1952 film “Rancho Notorious,” starring Marlene Dietrich; “The Big Heat” (1953), starring Glenn Ford; “The Sad Sack” (1957), starring Jerry Lewis, and the 1959 film “Watusi,” starring George Montgomery. He was also in the 1975 family thriller “Escape to Witch Mountain.”

Seymour’s television appearances included the series “Perry Mason” and “Kojak.”

He is survived by his wife, Evelyn, two sons, Gregory of Los Angeles and Jeff of West Los Angeles, and four grandchildren.

The family has asked that any memorial contributions be made to the City of Hope 500 Club.