Robert Loggia was a renowned actor and director. (Photo : Twitter)
Robert Loggia, who was known for his gravelly voiced gangster in "Scarface" and "The Sopranos," died on Dec. 4, Friday, at his home in Los Angeles. He was 85.
The news of the legendary actor's death was confirmed by his wife, Aubrey Loggia, who told Fox News that his body gave up after a struggle with Alzheimer for five years.
The late Italian-American actor was born and brought up on Staten Island. First inclined toward newspaper work, he studied journalism at the University of Missouri, but was soon drawn to acting and returned to New York to study at the Actors Studio.
Loggia jumped into show business at the age of 28 when he acted in Walt Disney TV series followed by his multiple appearances in "The Big Valley," "Gunsmoke," "The Untouchables" and "The Bionic Woman."
Loggia won an Emmy in 1989 for his work on the series "Mancuso FBI," in which he played the title role, an F.B.I. agent.
The late actor also ventured into movies and delivered some memorable performances in movies like "Revenge Of Pink Panther," "Over The Top," "Independence Day," "Necessary Roughness" and "Armed And Dangerous." He was a Miami drug lord in Al Pacino-starrer "Scarface" and a Sicilian mobster in "Prizzi's Honor."
The late actor even earned an Oscar nomination for the 1985 legal thriller, "Jagged Edge," in which played gumshoe Sam Ransom, who investigated a murder involving Glenn Close and Jeff Bridges.
But the late actor's most memorable role is a comic role of a toy company owner in "Big," who befriends a child trapped in the body of an adult man, played by Tom Hanks.
Owing to varied types of roles, the late actor had a reputation in Hollywood as a versatile performer and an energetic scene stealer, New York Times reported.
