Character actor Frank Pesce, who appeared in “Top Gun” and the first two “Beverly Hills Cop” movies, died Feb. 6, Variety reported. He was 75.
Pesce died from complications from dementia, his girlfriend, Tammy Scher, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Pesce played a bartender in “Top Gun,” and played a cigarette buyer in the opening scene of “Beverly Hills Cop” in 1984. In the 1987 sequel, he played a thug named Carlotta whom Axel Foley (played by Eddie Murphy) claims is a policeman.
Frank Pesce, Character Actor in ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ Films, Dies at 75 https://t.co/EjNKa3JD9w
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) February 16, 2022
The actor also appeared in “Midnight Run” and in “Donnie Brasco.”
Born in 1946 in New York City, Pesce was friends with Sylvester Stallone and Tony Danza, Variety reported. He made his television debut as a guest star on “Police Story” in 1976. He also appeared on “Kojak,” “Knight Rider,” “Blue Thunder,” “The Greatest American Hero,” “Matlock,” “Who’s the Boss?” and “The Master,” according to Variety.
Pesce landed an uncredited role as a spectator in Stallone’s 1976 film, “Rocky,” and played Skinny the Hand in “Paradise Alley,” another Stallone film, two years later.
In a statement to Variety, Scher said she met Pesce at a “very low point in my life.”
“He always said he saved me and he was right. I’d never met anyone like him,” Scher told the website. “Frank was a force larger than life or any fictional character, always entertaining, intriguing and fascinating. Unafraid to approach anyone and immediately make an acquaintance. Celebrities flocked to be near him as he had an encyclopedia of knowledge about music and movies.”
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