James Coco(1930-1987)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Born in New York City of humble means, character
player James Coco was the son of Feliche, an Italian shoemaker, and Ida
(Detestes) Coco. Shining shoes as a youngster with his father, his
interest in acting occurred early on as a child. At age 17 he toured
with a children's theatre troupe for three years portraying Old King
Cole and Hans Brinker. Intensive study with acting guru
Uta Hagen led to his Broadway debut at age 29
in "Hotel Paradiso" in 1957, but he earned his first acting award, an
Obie, for his performance in the 1961 off-Broadway production of "The
Moon in Yellow River". He went on to win a second and third Obie for
his performances in the plays "Fragments" (1967) and "The
Transfiguration of Benno Blimppie" (1977). Dark, hefty and prematurely
balding, he proved to be a natural on the comedy stage and in scores of
commercials (notably as Willy the plumber in the Drano ads) throughout
the 1960s. Other comedy theater highlights included roles in "Auntie
Mame," "Everybody Loves Opal," "A Shot in the Dark," "Bell, Book and
Candle" and "You Can't Take It With You".
In the late 60s he formed a strong collaboration with playwright
Terrence McNally and appeared in an
off-Broadway double-bill of his one-act plays (his one-act was entitled
"Witness") in 1968, followed by "Here's Where I Belong" a failed 1968
Broadway musical variation of the Steinbeck play "East of Eden" that
closed on opening night. Their most notable alliance occurred the
following year with the play "Next," which ran more than 700
performances and earned Coco a Drama Desk award. Sixteen years later,
and shortly before Coco's death, the two reunited for the 1985
Manhattan Theatre Club production of "It's Only a Play".
Coco also earned kudos for his work in
Neil Simon comedies, and "The Last of
the Red Hot Lovers" (1969), which was specifically written for him,
earned him a Tony Award nomination as Best Actor. The two later joined
forces for a Broadway revival of the musical "Little Me" and the
hilarious film comedy spoofs
Murder by Death (1976) and
The Cheap Detective (1978),
in addition to his moving support role as
Marsha Mason's depressed gay
actor/friend in
Only When I Laugh (1981), which
garnered his sole Oscar nomination.
Achieving stardom first on stage, Coco's other films were a mixed bag
with more misses
(Ensign Pulver (1964),
Man of La Mancha (1972) (as
Sancho Panza),
The Wild Party (1975),
Scavenger Hunt (1979)) than hits
(A New Leaf (1971)). On the TV screen,
Coco fronted two short-lived 1970s comedy series,
Calucci's Department (1973)
and The Dumplings (1976), and
also appeared in daytime soaps (The Edge of Night (1956) and "The Guiding
Light"). Throughout his career he played an amusing number of
characters on such sitcoms as Maude (1972) and Alice (1976) and also played
bathos and pathos to great effect, not only winning an Emmy for his
dramatic performance on a St. Elsewhere (1982) episode but appearing
opposite Doris Roberts as the brittle Van
Daan couple in the TV version of
The Diary of Anne Frank (1980).
One of his last TV assignments was a recurring role on the sitcom
"Who's The Boss?" in 1986-1987.
In his last years, Coco received attention for his culinary talents and
best-selling cookbooks. The James Coco Diet, an educational book which
included chapters on menu planning and behavior modification as well as
choice recipes), was just one that he promoted on the talk show
circuit. It is probably not a coincidence that he often played
characters with extreme food issues. Suffering from obesity (5'10", 250
lbs.) for most his adult life, the talented actor died unexpectedly of
a heart attack in New York City in 1987 at the age of 56, and was
buried in St. Gertrude's Roman Catholic Cemetery in Colonia, New
Jersey.
player James Coco was the son of Feliche, an Italian shoemaker, and Ida
(Detestes) Coco. Shining shoes as a youngster with his father, his
interest in acting occurred early on as a child. At age 17 he toured
with a children's theatre troupe for three years portraying Old King
Cole and Hans Brinker. Intensive study with acting guru
Uta Hagen led to his Broadway debut at age 29
in "Hotel Paradiso" in 1957, but he earned his first acting award, an
Obie, for his performance in the 1961 off-Broadway production of "The
Moon in Yellow River". He went on to win a second and third Obie for
his performances in the plays "Fragments" (1967) and "The
Transfiguration of Benno Blimppie" (1977). Dark, hefty and prematurely
balding, he proved to be a natural on the comedy stage and in scores of
commercials (notably as Willy the plumber in the Drano ads) throughout
the 1960s. Other comedy theater highlights included roles in "Auntie
Mame," "Everybody Loves Opal," "A Shot in the Dark," "Bell, Book and
Candle" and "You Can't Take It With You".
In the late 60s he formed a strong collaboration with playwright
Terrence McNally and appeared in an
off-Broadway double-bill of his one-act plays (his one-act was entitled
"Witness") in 1968, followed by "Here's Where I Belong" a failed 1968
Broadway musical variation of the Steinbeck play "East of Eden" that
closed on opening night. Their most notable alliance occurred the
following year with the play "Next," which ran more than 700
performances and earned Coco a Drama Desk award. Sixteen years later,
and shortly before Coco's death, the two reunited for the 1985
Manhattan Theatre Club production of "It's Only a Play".
Coco also earned kudos for his work in
Neil Simon comedies, and "The Last of
the Red Hot Lovers" (1969), which was specifically written for him,
earned him a Tony Award nomination as Best Actor. The two later joined
forces for a Broadway revival of the musical "Little Me" and the
hilarious film comedy spoofs
Murder by Death (1976) and
The Cheap Detective (1978),
in addition to his moving support role as
Marsha Mason's depressed gay
actor/friend in
Only When I Laugh (1981), which
garnered his sole Oscar nomination.
Achieving stardom first on stage, Coco's other films were a mixed bag
with more misses
(Ensign Pulver (1964),
Man of La Mancha (1972) (as
Sancho Panza),
The Wild Party (1975),
Scavenger Hunt (1979)) than hits
(A New Leaf (1971)). On the TV screen,
Coco fronted two short-lived 1970s comedy series,
Calucci's Department (1973)
and The Dumplings (1976), and
also appeared in daytime soaps (The Edge of Night (1956) and "The Guiding
Light"). Throughout his career he played an amusing number of
characters on such sitcoms as Maude (1972) and Alice (1976) and also played
bathos and pathos to great effect, not only winning an Emmy for his
dramatic performance on a St. Elsewhere (1982) episode but appearing
opposite Doris Roberts as the brittle Van
Daan couple in the TV version of
The Diary of Anne Frank (1980).
One of his last TV assignments was a recurring role on the sitcom
"Who's The Boss?" in 1986-1987.
In his last years, Coco received attention for his culinary talents and
best-selling cookbooks. The James Coco Diet, an educational book which
included chapters on menu planning and behavior modification as well as
choice recipes), was just one that he promoted on the talk show
circuit. It is probably not a coincidence that he often played
characters with extreme food issues. Suffering from obesity (5'10", 250
lbs.) for most his adult life, the talented actor died unexpectedly of
a heart attack in New York City in 1987 at the age of 56, and was
buried in St. Gertrude's Roman Catholic Cemetery in Colonia, New
Jersey.