Peter Scolari, Emmy-winning Bosom Buddies and Newhart actor, dies at 66

Peter Scolari, the Emmy-winning actor perhaps best known for his work on Bosom Buddies and Newhart, has died. He was 66.

Scolari's manager confirmed his death on Friday, which came after a two-year battle with cancer, Variety and Deadline report. The actor starred opposite Tom Hanks on the ABC sitcom Bosom Buddies, and he played producer Michael Harris on the CBS sitcom Newhart. His Newhart role earned him three Emmy nominations for best supporting actor in a comedy series, and he also won an Emmy in 2016 for his guest role as Tad Horvath, the father of Lena Dunham's character on HBO's Girls.

Among Scolari's other credits were Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, Happy Days, Family Ties, The Love Boat, ER, The West Wing, White Collar, and Blue Bloods, and he recently was starring on the Paramount+ horror series Evil as Bishop Thomas Marx. He also had numerous roles on stage, including in Hairspray.

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Rolling Stone critic Alan Sepinwall remembered Scolari as a "welcome, acerbic presence in everything he appeared in," while Evil co-creator Robert King paid tribute to "one of the funniest — sneakily funny — actors we've worked with." King added, "He always took a nothing scene and found different ways to twist it, and throw in odd pauses that made it jump. … He was just wonderful."