‘Scarface’ actor Robert Loggia dies at 85

Robert Loggia, whose lengthy career gained him acclaim as one of the most lauded character actors in Hollywood, died at home on Friday at the age of 85.

Loggia was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for flick “Jagged Edge” for his portrayal of blunt private detective Sam Ransom.

Loggia won an Emmy in 1989 for his work on the series “Mancuso FBI”, in which he played the title role, an F.B.I. agent. He was a Miami drug lord in Scarface and a Sicilian mobster in Prizzi’s Honor.

Loggia played Anwar Sadat in the 1982 TV movie “A Woman Called Golda” opposite Ingrid Bergman.

In 2003, he appeared in four episodes of HBO’s “The Sopranos“, as gangster Feech La Manna, who was released from prison and sought to return to the Mafia.

The late Italian-American actor was born and brought up on Staten Island. He received a football scholarship to Wagner College and transferred to the University of Missouri. Michael Burns, Lionsgate Vice Chairman, said that he loved the veteran actor like his father. He served two years in the U.S. Army and then attended the Actors Studio. First working as a radio and TV anchor in the Panama Canal zone, his rise to fame began after playing real-life old west lawman Elfego Baca in a series of TV shows for Disney in 1958.

Loggia also directed episodes of TV shows Hart to Hart, Magnum, P.I. and Quincy M.E.

Loggia’s other screen credits include the military adviser to President Whitmore in the ’90s blockbuster, “Independence Day”, and made appearances in three of the “Pink Panthers” films from Blake Edwards.

Loggia is survived by his wife, Aubrey, his children – Tracy, John and Kristina (from his first marriage) – and stepdaughter, Cynthia.