Robert Loggia, veteran character actor whose career spanned 6 decades and who received an Oscar nomination in 1986 for his role in Jagged Edge died Friday in Los Angeles, his family have confirmed.
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Loggia was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease five years ago. “He loved being an actor and he loved his life”. “He used to say that he never had to work”.
But as we pay tribute to Loggia, it feels like the proper time to look back at the roles that make him worthy of your memories. A chance meeting in a toy store leads to the pair tapping out joyful duets of “Chopsticks” and “Heart and Soul” on the piano keys built into the floor. He credited his re-emergence to a couple of plays produced by Joseph Papp, “Wedding Band” with Ruby Dee and “In the Boom-Boom Room” with Madeleine Kahn.
He was also nominated for an Emmy Award in 1989 for his portrayal of FBI agent Nick Mancuso in Mancuso FBI, and again in 2000 for his guest role in TV comedy Malcolm in the Middle.
Meanwhile, in 1996, Loggia had a key supporting role in “Independence Day”, playing a general who advises the president of the United States about an alien invasion. He also portrayed fearsome mobster-bakery owner Feech La Manna on several episodes of “The Sopranos“.
Native of Staten Island, Loggia was born to Italian immigrants and started his carrier by performing plays in NY. He grew up in Manhattan’s Little Italy section.
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In 1954, Loggia married Marjorie Sloane, by whom he had three children: Tracey, Kristina, son John. He appeared in three episodes of The Rockford Files, playing three different characters. He served two years in the U.S. Army and then attended the Actors Studio.
