A man who can be by turns charming and terrifying, sometimes in the space on one breath, is a valuable asset to a director. Robert Loggia had that quality, and brought it to many memorable films and performances. He’s died at the age of 85.
Born on New York’s Staten Island in 1930, Loggia studied journalism at college before joining the army after graduation. His early career was spent as a TV and radio anchor in the United States Armed Forces Radio and Television service, and from there he became an actor, appearing in plays on Broadway and kicking off a screen career with small roles in US TV series such as Wagon Train, Studio One and Playhouse 90. His first major part was in Disney’s Disneyland series, playing real-life gunslinger and lawman Elfego Baca.
From there, he developed a solid supporting and character actor career in a variety of shows and movies, appearing on a diverse range of small screen offerings including Columbo, Gunsmoke*, Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea, The Wild Wild West, The Bionic Woman, Kojak, Frasier, Hawaii Five-O, The Sopranos and even voicing himself on episodes of Family Guy.
He got his big screen break, albeit uncredited, in 1956’s Somebody Up There Likes Me, and went on to become a regular face in cinema. Some of his memorable movies included Revenge Of The Pink Panther, An Officer And A Gentleman, Brian De Palma’s 1983 take on Scarface, Prizzi’s Honor, _Jagged Edg_e (for which he was Oscar nominated as Best Supporting Actor), Over The Top, Big (famous for his floor piano duet with Tom Hanks), Innocent Blood, Independence Day and Lost Highway.
In 2010, Loggia was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, the complications of which took his life on Friday in Los Angeles. He’s survived by his widow, Audrey, and his widow four children, Tracy, John, Kristina and Cynthia.