Big and The Sopranos Vet Robert Loggia Has Died

Robert Loggia, the famously gruff actor whose films included Scarface and Big, has died at the age of 85, according to published reports.

Born January 3, 1930, on Staten Island, Loggia graduated from New Dorp High School and attended both Wagner College and the University of Missouri. He served in the US Army and became a radio and television anchor for the Southern Command Network in the Panama Canal Zone. He transitioned into acting when he returned home, first coming to prominence when he played real-life lawyer Elfego Baca in a series of episodes of Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color.

Loggia made his New York stage debut in 1954's Bullfight, written by Leslie Stevens, at the Cherry Lane Theatre. That was followed by roles in Jack Kirkland's The Man With the Golden Arm (1956), Lee Strasberg's Broadway revival of Chekhov's The Three Sisters (as Solyony in 1964), Roger O. Hirson's World War 2 1/2 (1969), Ronald Ribman's Passing Through From Exotic Places (1969), Alice Childress's Wedding Band at the Public Theater (1972), and David Rabe's Boom Boom Room on Broadway (1973). His last New York stage appearance came in 2003's Trumbo: Red White and Blacklisted at the Westside Theatre.

On-screen, Loggia made indelible appearances in films including An Officer and A Gentleman, several Pink Panther films, Scarface, Prizzi's Honor, Jagged Edge, for which he received a 1986 Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination, and Big, during which he danced on a piano with Tom Hanks. On television, he received Emmy nominations for his performances in the series' Mancuso FBI and Malcolm in the Middle. He played the mobster Feech La Manna on several episodes of The Sopranos and himself in various episodes of Family Guy.

Loggia is survived by his wife, Audrey, and four children.

Watch Loggia dance with Tom Hanks in Big below: