Bob Newhart, Lena Dunham, ‘Evil’ Co-Creator, More Remember Peter Scolari as a “Thoughtful” Hard-Working “Mensch”

Following news of Scolari’s death at 66 after a two-year battle with cancer, fellow actors and creators took to social media to lament the loss and praise his talent.

Upon hearing news of Peter Scolari’s death on Friday, actors, creators and other Hollywood figures honored the Bosom Buddies star and shared their love and sadness on social media. Scolari had been living with cancer for two years at the time of his death. He was 66.

Bob Newhart, who co-starred with Scolari on the CBS sitcom Newhart, said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, “I knew that Peter was sick, but his death still comes as a great shock. We were friends and colleagues for over 40 years. Julia and Peter, as a vacuous couple (Michael and Stephanie), were an essential part of the success of Newhart. In life, he was a fantastic person, and it was a joy to work together. He will be sorely missed and his passing at 66 is much too early.”

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Scolari recently appeared on the series Evil as Bishop Thomas Marx. The show’s co-creator Robert King paid tribute to Scolari in a series of tweets. He posted multiple photos of Scolari’s character from the Paramount+ drama and said, “Peter Scolari, who died today, was one of the funniest—sneakily funny—actors we’ve worked with. He always took a nothing scene and found different ways to twist it, and throw in odd pauses that made it jump. I will try to collect my thoughts more. He was just wonderful.”

King continued, “To watch Peter Scolari’s dailies was a thrill because he always found new ways to go. He molded the highs and lows of a scene, but always looking for the comic spin, and he’d massage a phrase with each take until he could hear the laughter in his head. This is a real loss.”

Speaking specifically about Scolari’s character on Evil, King praised him, saying, “It always felt like Peter Scolari found new ways to wear the priest wardrobe for comic effect. He knew his role was essentially funny, even though he often played straight man to something absurd said by another character. But he knew the laugh was in the reaction not the action.”

The creator ended his appreciation posts with, “Beyond everything else, Peter Scolari was a mensch, a hard worker, a thoughtful actor, always a pleasure on a set.”

Lena Dunham remembered her Girls co-star on Instagram as “the shyest extrovert, the most dramatic comedian, the most humble icon.”

“You had lived enough life to know that a TV show was just a TV show, but also to appreciate just what it meant to be allowed to play pretend for a living- and you never let us forget that this job was a privilege,” Dunham wrote. “I remember when you came back from doing a production of the Music Man somewhere- the theater had basically been a barn, there had been no WiFi and you had no understudy- and you were as grateful and delighted as you were when you were nominated for an Emmy.  You bragged nonstop about your kids, you had the best stories- like when you did Circus of the Stars and ‘that’s when I learned to walk a tightrope, there’s not much to it’- and when we told you that you would be coming out of the closet on the show you said ‘thank you, you can trust me with this.’ Becky Ann and I loved every second of playing your family and I couldn’t have been raised up by a better TV ‘papa.’ Thank you, Scolari, for every chat between set ups, every hug onscreen and off and every ‘Oh, Jeez.’ We will miss you so much.”

Scolari started off on the short-lived ABC comedy Goodtime Girls before landing a role on the sitcom Bosom Buddies alongside Tom Hanks. Despite the show ending after two seasons, Hanks and Scolari continued their decades-long friendship. Scolari went on to appear on the series Newhart, and he won a guest acting Emmy for his role on HBO’s Girls.

Fellow Evil actor Aasif Mandvi included a video of Scolari dancing on set in his tribute. “My dear Peter. I’m devastated,” Mandvi wrote. “Our set will never be the same without you. I will miss your stories, your laugh, your impressions, and your dance. We lost an artist, a gentleman, a comedian, and our #Evil family lost a friend today. Keep dancing my friend. I will miss you. #RIP.” 

Girls castmember Andrew Rannells also posted a message on Instagram. He said, “Sweet Peter Scolari. I feel very lucky to have known you. You are very loved.”

Another member from the Girls family, co-showrunner and writer Jenni Konner,  uploaded a photo to Instagram of Scolari holding his Emmy. She began the caption with, “Gutted. Such an obvious thing to say, but Peter Scolari was such a good actor. So good. So funny and smart. And the kindest man.”

Actor Harvey Fierstein, who worked with Scolari on the musical Hairspray, tweeted, “Sad to see the news that Peter Scolari lost his battle with cancer. There wasn’t a sweeter man on the planet. We performed together in HAIRSPRAY for a time and he was always a total delight. Farewell, dear Peter.”

Newhart co-star Julia Duffy shared a black-and-white photo of the pair dancing. She captioned it, “No better partner,” with a broken-heart emoji.

Jane Lynch took to Twitter and simply wrote, “What a mensch. What a loss. Love to family.”

Comedian and actress Jackie Hoffman said, “#RIP dear Peter Scolari. I was lucky enough to work with you and learn from you onstage and screen. A sweet funny cool dude.  I hope you get gigs wherever you are.”

Read more tributes below.


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