Scolari, character actor, dies at 66

LOS ANGELES (AP) — 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 198082 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!” Scolari also performed on Broadway in “Wicked.”

A New York native whose previous marriages ended in divorce, he’s survived by his wife, actor Tracy Shayne.