Joseph Campanella, TV Veteran, Dies @ 93

Joseph Campanella, a Sicilian-American character actor with hundreds of credits on the stage, on TV, and in feature films, died Wednesday, Deadline reports. He was 93.

Joseph Campanella (November 21, 1924—May 16, 2018)

Campanella was born November 21, 1924, in New York City, the son of a a musican. His older brother Frank (1919-2006) was also an actor.

As a teenager, he got his start in radio ahead of a stint in the Navy during WWII, studied architecture and literature, and graduated with degrees in speech and drama from Columbia University.

As the love interest of Barbara Stanwyck's (1907-1990) character on The Colbys (Image via ABC)

Campanella began his career on TV with uncredited appearances in 1952 episodes of a series called Suspense. From there, he was nearly ubiquitous in the medium as a guest star. He had a recurring role on Naked City (1961-1962) and The Doctors and the Nurses (1962-1965), The Bold Ones: The Lawyers (1969-1972), Mannix (1967-1972); One Day at a Time (1976-1982); The Colbys (1985-1986); Days of Our Lives (1987-1988); Mama's Family (1987-1988); Beauty and the Beast (1988-1989); and The Practice (1998-2001).

He received a 1967 Emmy nomination for Mannix.

With Estelle Getty (1923-2008) and George Clooney (b. 1961) on The Golden Girls (Image via NBC)

Among his most memorable TV gigs: Mary Richards' ex-boyfriend on Mary Tyler Moore (1973), and a rugged cop on a stakeout on The Golden Girls (1987).

He was a regular on That's Life (2000-2001), and was well-known for his roles as Jonathan Young on The Bold and the Beautiful (1996-2005).

He was also a voice artist, including on the animated series Spider-Man (1994-1997) and as the host of Discover (1992-1994) on Disney Channel and various other science specials and series.

He did commercials and other pitches — including for the Unity Church — in the '70s and '80s.

In The Glow (2002) with Portia de Rossi (b. 1973) and Dean Cain (b. 1966)

 

In film, he made his debut in 1960, making only sporadic appearances on the big screen, including his swan song, in 2009's Lost Dream.

Campanella made his stage debut in Boston in 1954, and would later appear in Broadway productions of Captain and the Kings (1962); A Gift of Time (1962), for which he received a Tony nomination; and Hot Spot (1963), where he met his future wife.

He is survived by his wife of over 50 years, Kathryn, and by their seven sons.

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