Actor Robert LuPone has died at the age of 76.
On behalf of the Manhattan Class Company (MCC), co-founders Bernie Telsey and Will Cantler published a letter on Monday in which they announced that Robert had died on Saturday following a three-year battle with pancreatic cancer.
“Bob was a force, an advocate, complex in the richest ways, overflowing with a youthful enthusiasm, and deeply wise as he looked into our souls,” they commented. “He was our best friend. It is hard to believe that we will never sit down with him again and say, ‘Let’s talk.’”
Robert, the older brother of actress Patti LuPone, studied at the Juilliard School and landed his first professional job in The Pajama Game musical featuring Liza Minnelli in 1966.
He made his Broadway debut in the 1968 production of Noel Coward’s Sweet Potato, and subsequently appeared in Minnie’s Boys and The Rothschilds. Later, the actor played Zach in A Chorus Line, for which he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.
However, Robert is perhaps best known for portraying Dr Bruce Cusamano in five episodes of the HBO series The Sopranos and as Nelson Broome in two episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
Robert is survived by his wife Virginia and son Orlando.