Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Peter Scolari death: Tributes flood in for Girls actor

Actor died aged 66 from cancer

Sam Moore
Friday 22 October 2021 20:30 BST
Comments
'Girls' UK premiere
Leer en Español

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Tributes have been paid to the actor Peter Scolari, who starred alongside Tom Hanks in Bossom Buddies, who has died aged 66.

Scolari also won an Emmy for his role in Lena Dunham’s Girls and is also renowned for playing Michael Harris on 1980s sitcom, Newhart. Scolari was diagnosed with cancer two years ago.

Actor Harvey Fierstein tweeted: “Sad to see the news that Peter Scolari lost his battle with cancer. There wasn’t a sweeter man on the planet. We performed together in Hairspray for a time and he was always a total delight. Farewell, dear Peter.”

Co-creator of Evil and The Good Fight, Robert King also paid tribute on Twitter: “Peter Scolari, who died today, was one of the funniest—sneakily funny—actors we’ve worked with. He always took a nothing scene and found different ways to twist it, and throw in odd pauses that made it jump. I will try to collect my thoughts more. He was just wonderful.”

Noted TV critic Alan Sepinwall posted about Scolari: “RIP, Peter Scolari. A welcome, acerbic presence in everything he appeared in, from Bosom Buddies to Newhart to Girls. He and Tom Hanks were so good together that Bosom Buddies soon abandoned the dumb crossdressing premise; people just wanted to watch those guys be funny together.”

Tom Hanks’ daughter, EA Hanks, tweeted: “Peter Scolari was as kind as soul as I have ever met, and an incredibly gifted artist. My thoughts are with his family today. How lucky we all are that the work remains.”

A prolific presence on stage and screen, Scolari, who is best known as a comic actor, had more recently appeared in TV dramas such as Evil, Gotham and Blue Bloods.

His most notable film credit is The Polar Express which also stars his longtime friend, Hanks.

The two also appeared on stage together in Lucky Guy, which was written by Nora Ephron.

As well as his Emmy win for Girls, Scolari was nominated three times during his run on Newhart.

Scolari is survived by his wife and four children.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in