Peter Scolari, the prolific television and stage actor who found instant fame and a lifelong friendship with Tom Hanks when the two co-starred in the hit 1980 TV comedy Bosom Buddies, died early Friday morning following a two-year battle with cancer.



His death was announced by Ellen Lubin Sanitsky at Wright Entertainment.

Scolari’s (photo) 43-year show business career included such highlights as his Emmy-nominated series regular role of producer Michael Harris on Bob Newhart’s 1984-90 comedy Newhart, an Emmy-winning recurring role as the father of Lena Dunham’s character on HBO’s Girls, and, most recently, his role as Bishop Thomas Marx on the CBS supernatural drama Evil.

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A partial roster of other TV credits include Fosse/Verdon, Madoff, The Good Fight, Murphy Brown, The West Wing, ER, Gotham, Law & Order: SVU, Ally McBeal, From the Earth to the Moon and Honey I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, to name a relative few.

Peter Scolari became 66 years old, R.I.P.

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Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari in Bosom Buddies