
Celebrity friends of Peter Scolari are paying tribute to the late actor after he died following a two-year long battle with cancer. On Friday, Scolari breathed his last aged 66.
Bob Newhart, who co-starred with Scolari on 'Newhart' from 1984 to 1990, was one of the many who shared interesting anecdotes from their time together.
"I knew that Peter was sick, but his death still comes as a great shock. We were friends and colleagues for over 40 years. Julia and Peter, as a vacuous couple (Michael and Stephanie), were an essential part of the success of Newhart. In life, he was a fantastic person, and it was a joy to work together. He will be sorely missed and his passing at 66 is much too early," he was quoted as saying by a news website.
"The shyest extrovert, the most dramatic comedian, the most humble icon. You had lived enough life to know that a TV show was just a TV show, but also to appreciate just what it meant to be allowed to play pretend for a living- and you never let us forget that this job was a privilege. I remember when you came back from doing a production of the Music Man somewhere- the theater had basically been a barn, there had been no WiFi and you had no understudy- and you were as grateful and delighted as you were when you were nominated for an Emmy," wrote Lena Dunham.
"You bragged nonstop about your kids," Dunham continued. "You had the best stories- like when you did Circus of the Stars and 'that’s when I learned to walk a tightrope, there’s not much to it'- and when we told you that you would be coming out of the closet on the show you said 'thank you, you can trust me with this.' Becky Ann and I loved every second of playing your family and I couldn’t have been raised up by a better TV 'papa.' Thank you, Scolari, for every chat between set ups, every hug onscreen and off and every 'Oh, Jeez.' We will miss you so much."
Ike Barinholtz commented, saying, "Really beautiful ❤️RIP," on Dunham's post.
Betty Buckley, who worked with the late actor on 'White's Lies', tweeted, "Peter Scolari was a lovely, lovely man & a brilliant actor. So honored to have gotten to work with him. Deepest condolences to his wife & family. #RIP."
Check out the online tributes for Peter Scolari: