RIP Peter Scolari: Honor the actor with his most iconic roles

Emmy-winning Bosom Buddies, Newhart, and Girls actor Peter Scolari has passed away at the age of sixty-six. The public knows him as the prolific television & stage actor who garnered instant fame with a lifelong friendship with Tom Hanks upon the two co-starring together in the hit 1980s TV comedy Bosom Buddies. He passed away early this morning following a two-year battle with cancer. 

Peter Scolari will be remembered in many ways, one example being his busy stage career. He appeared on Broadway six times beginning with the 2003 production Hairspray, Sly fox of 2004, Magic/Bird of 2012 with his wife Tracy Shayne, Bronx Bomber from 2014. Peter Scolari & Tom Hanks shared the stage of Broadway’s Broadhurst Theatre in 2013’s Lucky Guy. 

Overall, Scolari had a show biz career lasting forty-three years. Highlights include his Emmy-nominated series regular role of producer Michael Harris on Bob Newhart’s 1984 to 1990 comedy Newhart, the Emmy-winning recurring role as the father of Lena Dunham’s character on HBO’s Girls. His most recent role was as Bishop Thomas Marx on the CBS supernatural drama Evil. 

We’re going to take a look at some of Peter Scolari’s most iconic roles!

Bosom Buddies

(Because brush-ups are never useless!) Bosom Buddies told the story of Kip (Tom Hanks) and Henry (Peter Scolari) working at an advertising agency as an artist & writer respectively. The apartment they were residing in got condemned and thus the two had no place to live. Amy, their co-worker (who seemed to yearn for something greater than an idle friendship with Henry) suggested that they stay with her. 

But of course, the place was for females only! Kip & Henry then did the only logical thing: get into drag and assume the personas of Buffy Wilson & Hildegarde “Hilde” Desmond. What would you have done?

Newhart

Folks who were alive in the ‘80s most likely remember those days of Newhart. 

Bob Newhart played the role of Dick Loudon who was the author of do-it-yourself & travel books. He and his wife Johanna relocated from New York City to a small town in rural Vermont so they could operate the two-hundred-year-old Stratford Inn. People must have dwelled on the culture shock they’d experience after such a different move. 

Bob Newhart is praising Peter Scolari, deeming him an “essential part of Newhart’s success. Their co-star Julia Duffy says there was “no better partner”. Scolari played Michael Harris, the husband of Julia Duffy’s Stephanie and the producer-boss of the locally hosted TV show.

Newhart said, “I knew that Peter was sick, but his death still comes as a great shock. We were friends and colleagues for over forty years.” Reminiscing about the talented Peter Scolari, Newhart added, “In life, he was a fantastic person, and it was a joy to work together. He will be sorely missed and his passing at sixty-six is much too early.”

Hairspray

In addition to being remembered by “Newhart’s Julia Duffy,” Peter Scolari is also known as the “Hairspray’s Harvey Fierstein” among those paying tribute to him. 

In Hairspray, Peter Scolari depicted the novelty-goods salesman and inventor whose wife, Edna (Harvey Fierstein) and daughter Tracy (Kathy Brier) get tremendous makeovers in 1960s Baltimore. 

(You’re) Timeless to Me is a duet between husband & wife and it’s been singled out as a fresh return to the old-fashioned romantic show a la Just in Time. Yes, Peter Scolari, called “the impish actor” by PlayBill sang in the Encores! It was the time when the concerts of Ziegfeld Follies from 1936 and Out of This World took the place of Wilbur Turnblad in Broadway’s Hairspray.

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Remember Peter Scolari by tuning into the movies and shows across various platforms. Share your condolences in the comments below!