Earlier today, word came that actor Robert Loggia passed away. He was 85. Reports state his passing was due to complications of Alzheimer’s disease.
I think if you asked twenty people (Ok, twenty movie nerds) what they knew Robert from, you would get many different answers. For me, my first memory of him was from the very forgetable HOT PURSUIT, a sad John Cusack romantic comedy from 1986. But Robert had rec’d an Academy Award nomination, in 85, for his supporting role in JAGGED EDGE. My favorite memory is RETURN TO ME, a delightful romantic comedy featuring David Duchovny and Minnie Driver, with Robert and Carol O’Connor providing some delightful support. Many may know him as the boss in BIG and will remember Tom Hanks and Robert playing Chop Sticks on the giant keyboard.
His film career spanned almost 60 years (including SCARFACE, BIG, RETURN OF THE PINK PANTHER) , but he augmented his film career with television appearances on shows such as Gunsmoke, Little House on the Prairie, Starsky and Hutch, Charlie’s Angels, The Rockford Files, Magnum, P.I., Quincy, M.E., Kojak, Hawaii Five-0, Frasier, The Sopranos and Monk.
Here is a trailer for RETURN TO ME, the scenes with Robert and Carol O’Connor always make me smile.
And if you don’t remember him in BIG, I offer Chopsticks:
