Robert Loggia, Oscar-nominated character actor, dies at 85

Robert Loggia, a prolific and versatile character actor best known for roles in Scarface and Big, has died. He was 85 years old.

His widow, Audrey, confirmed to Variety that Loggia had been battling Alzheimer’s disease for five years. He died Friday at his Los Angeles home.

Loggia had over 200 credits to his name, going all the way back to early television in the 1950s. Between 1958 and 1960, he starred on Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color in the Elfego Baca episodes.

Other TV appearances came on Naked City, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Untouchables, The Defenders and Rawhide. He earned an Emmy nomination in 1989 for Mancuso FBI and a guest appearance on Malcolm in the Middle in 2000. He appeared in three episodes of The Rockford Files, playing three different characters. He also played Feech La Manna on The Sopranos.

For moviegoers, he is best recognized for parts in Big, 1983’s Scarface, Lost Highway, Independence Day, Prizzi’s Honor, An Officer And A Gentleman and three Pink Panther movies. He earned an Oscar nomination for his role in the 1985 Jeff Bridges movie Jagged Edge.

“He loved being an actor,” his widow said in an interview with Variety. “He used to say that he never had to work. He never had to wait tables.”

Prior to acting, the Staten Island-born Loggia attended Wagner College and the University of Missouri. He served two years in the U.S. Army and then attended the Actors Studio.

Loggia was married to Audrey for 33 years. He also had three children with his first wife, notes CNN.