Sopranos actor Bob LuPone dead at 76

Sopranos actor Bob LuPone dead at 76: Brother of icon Patti LuPone earned a Tony Award nomination in original run of A Chorus Line

• Actor Bob LuPone has died at the age of 76 it was revealed this weekend 
• LuPone, brother of Broadway icon Patti LuPone, died Saturday 
• This follows a three-year battle with pancreatic cancer, according to his publicist
• The star earned a Tony Award nomination in the original run of A Chorus Line 
• And played Tony Soprano’s family physician in The Sopranos
• He also helped found and lead the influential off-Broadway theater company MCC Theater for almost 40 years

Actor Bob LuPone has died at the age of 76.

LuPone, brother of Broadway icon Patti LuPone, died Saturday following a three-year battle with pancreatic cancer, according to Matt Ross Public Relations. 

The star earned a Tony Award nomination in the original run of A Chorus Line and played Tony Soprano’s family physician in The Sopranos.

He also helped found and lead the influential off-Broadway theater company MCC Theater for almost 40 years.

Sad loss: Actor Bob LuPone has died at the age of 76. The star earned a Tony Award nomination in the original run of A Chorus Line and played Tony Soprano’s family physician in The Sopranos; seen in 2010

Hard end: LuPone, brother of Broadway icon Patti LuPone, died Saturday following a three-year battle with pancreatic cancer, according to Matt Ross Public Relations; seen in 2014

‘The MCC Theater community mourns the loss of our much loved and uniquely inspiring partner, colleague and dear friend, Bob LuPone, who lived fearlessly and with great curiosity, good humor, a boundless passion for connection, and a whole lot of heart. We will miss him deeply and always,’ the theater company said in a statement.

LuPone’s first professional job was in 1966, in the ensemble of the Westbury Music Fair´s production of The Pajama Game starring Liza Minnelli. 

He made his Broadway debut in the 1968 production of Noel Coward’s Sweet Potato and later appeared in Minnie’s Boys, The Rothschilds and The Magic Show.

TV fame: He played Dr. Bruce Cusamano on The Sopranos, teasingly nicknamed ‘Cooze’ by neighbor mobster Tony Soprano

The series: It aired from 1999 until 2007. The Sopranos was a crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano, a New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster

LuPone was initially cast as Al in A Chorus Line, but convinced creator and director Michael Bennett to let him play Zach after the original actor left. 

LuPone would earn a best featured actor Tony nomination for the role.

‘Deepest condolences to the Lupone family,’ said Betty Buckley on Twitter.

Born in 1946 in Brooklyn, New York, LuPone graduated from The Juilliard School with a bachelor’s degree in dance in 1968.

Talent runs in the family: Here he is seen with his iconic Broadway actress sister Patti in New York City in 1981

Praised: Patti, 73, is an actress and singer best known for her work in musical theater. She has won three Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, two Grammy Awards, and was a 2006 inductee to the American Theater Hall of Fame

He was teaching an acting class at New York University when one of his students was Bernie Telsey. Together they would help form Manhattan Class Company in 1986 – known today as MCC Theater.

LuPone, Telsey along with third co-artistic director Will Cantler shaped MCC into a theatrical powerhouse.

They produced such Broadway-bound works as Frozen, Reasons to be Pretty, Hand to God, School Girls; or the African Mean Girls Play, The Snow Geese, The Other Place and the Pulitzer Prize- winning Wit.

Early start: Born in 1946 in Brooklyn, New York, LuPone graduated from The Juilliard School with a bachelor’s degree in dance in 1968. Seen in 2018

With a friend: The star, right, with Michael Kelly at MCC Theater’s Inaugural All-Star Let’s Play! Celebrity Game Night in 2019 in New York City

While serving as co-artistic director of MCC, LuPone also worked as an actor, appearing in A View from the Bridge, True West and A Thousand Clowns, all on Broadway. 

He was in the Chicago premiere of Sam Shepard’s The Tooth of Crime and on TV was in Sex and the City, Guiding Light, and All My Children, for which he received a Daytime Emmy nomination.

He played Dr. Bruce Cusamano on The Sopranos, teasingly nicknamed ‘Cooze’ by neighbor mobster Tony Soprano. 

In one memorable episode, Tony plays a joke by bringing Cooze a sealed box and asking him to hold on to it for a while, not telling his nervous neighbor that the package is filled with sand.

He also served as director of the master’s drama program at the New School for Drama from 2005 through 2011 and served as president of the board of directors of A.R.T/ New York.

LuPone is survived by his wife, Virginia; his son, Orlando; sister, Patti; and brother, William.

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