Writer-actor Joe Bologna dead at 82
PHOENIX — Oscar-nominated writer Joseph (Joe) Bologna died Sunday. He was 82.
Bologna died in the Los Angeles area after a three-year battle against pancreatic cancer, his manager Matt Sherman said.
The actor and director was married to actress Renee Taylor, who credited his doctors for prolonging his life so he could receive a lifetime achievement award at the Night of 100 Stars for the Actors’ Fund of America on Feb. 26.
“He had a beautiful life,” Taylor said in a statement.
Born Dec. 30, 1934, Bologna was a native to Brooklyn, New York. After he graduated from Brown University with a degree in art history, Bologna served in the Marines. Bologna and Taylor married in 1965.
“Joe was a lovable man, a kind soul, a good friend and always a pleasure to be with,” Sherman said.
Bologna was nominated for an Oscar in 1971 for best adapted screenplay for Lovers and Other Strangers. He won an Emmy in 1973.
He had a string of TV and movie roles, including as Michael Caine’s sidekick in Blame it on Rio. But he was best known for his role as gangster King Kaiser in the 1982 comedy My Favorite Year.
Bologna was a voice actor for the 2006 animated film Ice Age: The Meltdown and had a role in the 1999 Adam Sandler comedy Big Daddy.