Actor known for his film roles in Desperately Seeking Susan and Crocodile DundeeThe actor Mark Blum, who has died aged 69 from complications of the coronavirus, gave a memorable performance in the screwball
comedy Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) as a harried, unfaithful hot-tub salesman plunged into New York’s grungy bohemian underbelly when his wife goes missing. Searching for her, he teams up with the devil-may-care Susan, played by
Madonna in her first major film role, and is exposed to her wayward, outrageous lifestyle.
Blum’s screen test with the singer followed a similar pattern. After first mistaking her for a bike messenger in the waiting room, he was invited by the director Susan Seidelman to rehearse a scene in which their characters are dancing and talking in a nightclub.