Yet another “Sopranos” actor has passed away.
Robert LuPone, who played Tony’s neighbor and family doctor, Dr. Bruce Cusamano, on “The Sopranos,” passed away on Saturday.
He was 76 years old.
The Sopranos Curse
LuPone was best-known to TV fans for playing Tony’s neighbor, but he was far more accomplished than just that show.
In fact, he co-founded the Manhattan Class Company Theater (MCC).
Under his guidance, MCC was considered a powerhouse in the theater industry.
It had produced such hits as “Frozen,” “Reasons to be Pretty,” and Pulitzer Prize-winning “Wit.”
LuPone was also an accomplished stage actor, having been nominated for a Tony during the original running of “A Chorus Line.”
MCC announced his death this week: “It is with heavy hearts that we announce that MCC founding Co-Artistic Director, Bob LuPone, passed away Saturday, Aug 27 after a three-year battle with pancreatic cancer.”
His agent, Penny Luedtke, added, “He was love, light, creativity and lots of fun.”
LuPone started acting in the 1970s, with his first credit being a dancer role in “Song of Norway,” and his first character role in 1973’s “Jesus Christ Superstar.”
In the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, he was a regular on several soap operas, including “All My Children” and “Ryan’s Hope.”
His last major role in a soap was playing Leo Flynn on the “Guiding Light” from 1989 to 1997.
LuPone has been battling pancreatic cancer for the last three years, finally succumbing to the disease.
He now joins an increasingly growing list of former “Sopranos” stars who have passed away in recent months.
