LOS ANGELES — Peter Scolari, a versatile character actor whose television roles included a yuppie producer on “Newhart” and a closeted dad on “Girls” and who was on Broadway with longtime friend Tom Hanks in “Lucky Guy,” has died. He was 66.
Scolari died Friday morning in New York after fighting cancer for two years, according to Ellen Lubin Sanitsky, his manager.
He first gained attention as the then-unknown Hanks’ co-star in the 1980-82 sitcom “Bosom Buddies,” in which their characters disguised themselves as women to live in affordable, females-only housing.
The two actors went on to work together in projects including Hanks’ 1996 movie directorial debut “That Thing You Do!” and in 2013′s “Lucky Guy,” Nora Ephron’s play about newspaper columnist Mike McAlary.
The two actors remained good friends in real life, with Scolari saying in an interview for Oprah Winfrey that Hanks toasted him at his wedding.
“I cannot get my mind around what I’ve done in my life to deserve this kind of affection,” Scolari said of his toast.
Scolari also played on Broadway in “Wicked.” “Hairspray” and 2014′s “Bronx Bombers,” in which he played baseball’s Yogi Berra.
His recent roles included Bishop Thomas Marx on the supernatural series “Evil.” Series co-creator Robert King remembered him as “just wonderful.”
Scolari was “one of the funniest — sneakily funny — actors we’ve worked with. He always took a nothing scene and found different ways to twist it, and throw in odd pauses that made it jump,” King said on Twitter.
Scolari received three Emmy nominations playing husband Michael to Julia Duffy’s character Stephanie and boss to Bob Newhart’s inn owner and local TV host in the 1980s sitcom “Newhart.”
In 2016, he won an Emmy Award for the role of Ted Horvath, father to Lena Dunham’s Hannah, in “Girls.” In the course of the dramedy created by Dunham, Ted comes out as gay and leaves his wife to find fulfillment.
Scolari’s more than four-decade career included guest roles on “ER,” “White Collar” and “Blue Bloods.”
Colleagues and friends paid tribute to Scolari on Friday.
“The shyest extrovert, the most dramatic comedian, the most humble icon,” Lena Dunham wrote of her late co-star. “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.”
“Sad to see the news that Peter Scolari lost his battle with cancer,” Harvey Fierstein wrote. “There wasn’t a sweeter man on the planet. We performed together in HAIRSPRAY for a time and he was always a total delight. Farewell, dear Peter.”
Scolari whose previous marriages ended in divorce, is survived by his wife, actor Tracy Shayne, who played opposite him as Berra’s wife in “Bronx Bombers.” Scolari’s survivors also include his children Nicholas, Joseph, Keaton, and Cali.
CNN wire services contributed to this report.
