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Celebrity2 min(s) read
Peter Scolari, who starred alongside Tom Hanks in Bosom Buddies and won an Emmy for his work in Girls, has died aged 66.
His manager Ellen Lubin Sanitsky revealed the tragic news to Deadline on Friday, October 22.
The actor had been battling cancer for two years prior to his death on Friday morning in New York, NBC News reports.
Scolari first gained attention as Hanks's co-star in the sitcom Bosom Buddies, which ran from 1980 to 1982 on ABC.
The pair starred as two men working in advertising who disguised themselves as women in order to live in affordable, female-only housing.
Scolari and Hanks worked together on other occasions, including in the 1996 comedy That Thing You Do!, which was also Hanks’s directorial debut, and in Nora Ephron's 2013 play Lucky Guy.
Scolari was also an accomplished Broadway performer during his 43-year entertainment career, appearing in classics like Hairspray and Wicked.
He won his first Emmy in 2016 for playing the father of Lena Dunham's character who comes out as gay on the HBO show Girls.
Dunham paid tribute to Scolari on Friday, October 22, sharing a series of images of his performances and writing: "The shyest extrovert, the most dramatic comedian, the most humble icon.
"You had lived enough life to know that a TV show was just a TV show, but also to appreciate just what it meant to be allowed to play pretend for a living – and you never let us forget that this job was a privilege."
She added of herself and Becky Ann Baker, who played Hannah’s mother Loreen Horvath on Girls: "Becky Ann and I loved every second of playing your family and I couldn’t have been raised up by a better TV 'papa'. Thank you, Scolari, for every chat between set ups, every hug onscreen and off and every 'Oh, Jeez.' We will miss you so much."
Scolari received three Emmy nominations for his work as Michael Harris, the husband to Julia Duffy’s character Stephanie and boss to Bob Newhart’s inn owner and local TV host in the 1980s sitcom Newhart.
His four-decade-plus career included guest roles on ER, White Collar, and Blue Bloods.
Scolari leaves behind his wife, actor Tracy Shayne, who played opposite him as Berra's wife in Bronx Bombers. Scolari is also survived by his children Nicholas, Joseph, Keaton, and Cali.
