“Sopranos” actor Robert “Bob” LuPone passed away last weekend after a three-year battle with pancreatic cancer, the MCC Theater announced. He was 76.
“The MCC Theater community mourns the loss of our dearly 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,” MCC Theater, an off-Broadway space that LuPone founded, said in a statement.
LuPone, who was also known as the brother of Broadway icon Patti LuPone, appeared on the hit HBO mafia series as Dr. Bruce Cusamano, who lived next door to Tony Soprano.
After graduating from Juilliard in 1968 with a BFA in dance, Robert was eventually cast as Al in “A Chorus Line”, but ended up getting the part of Zach when one of the actors left the production. Robert’s performance earned him a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.
He also worked as an acting teacher at New York University, where he would meet his student Bernie Telsey. Together they formed the Manhattan Class Company – also known as the MCC Theater.
Robert, Telsey and Will Cantler ran MCC for nearly 40 years, producing shows such as ‘Frozen’, ‘School Girls’ and ‘White’.
Bob also appeared in “Sex and the City,” “Guiding Light” and “All My Children,” for which he earned a Daytime Emmy nomination.
Bob is survived by his wife, Virginia; his son, Orlando; Patti and his brother, William.