Scolari was best known for his work on Bosom Buddies, Newhart, the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids TV series and as Lena Dunham’s onscreen father in Girls.His death was confirmed by his manager, Ellen Lubin Sanitsky. Scolari broke out on Bosom Buddies, a two-season 1980 sitcom on which he starred alongside Tom Hanks as one of two advertising creatives who disguise themselves as women for cheap rent.He and Hanks remained close and Scolari would later have a small role in Hanks’ directorial debut, the 1996 film That Thing You Do.Scolari’s long resume also included 142 episodes of Newhart and stints on Family Ties, The Love Boat, The Drew Carey Show, Ally McBeal, The West Wing, Fosse/Verdon and Lisey’s Story.His film roles included Camp Nowhere, Mentor and Suburban Girl while on stage he appeared in Stop the World – Want to Get Off, The Exonerated, Lucky Guy and Hairspray.Most recently, he had played a recurring role on the thriller series Evil, created by Robert and Michelle King, the writers behind The Good Wife.The Kings released a statement about Scolari’s death. They said: “Peter was beloved on our set by the cast, the crew and the writers not only because he was a mensch and a giving actor but because he took what otherwise was the straight man part and turned it into a comic pleasure.“He always found different ways to phrase things or find odd pauses in the middle of sentences. You could see him moulding the lines looking for the laughs.“Watching his dailies was always a thrill because you saw his craft in action. He worked with us right up until April 27th and he was great in every episode. We are going to miss him dreadfully.”In 2016, Scolari won an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy for Girls. He said at the time, “I’ve been at this for 42 years. I really wanted it. The worst thing for an actor is to buy his own hype. I’ll be 61 years old on Monday. I want to celebrate the blessings as a human being that I’ve been given.”Dunham, who created and starred in Girls, said of her onscreen dad, “The shyest extrovert, the most dramatic comedian, the most humble icon. You had lived enough life to know what 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.“I loved every second of playing your family and I couldn’t have been raised by a better TV ‘papa’. Thank you, Scolari, for every chat between set-ups, every hug onscreen and off and every ‘oh jeez’. We’ll miss you so much.”Scolari was also an avid juggler. He was married with four children.
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