Nicholas Colasanto

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Nicholas Colasanto (January 19, 1924 - February 12, 1985) was an American actor and television director, known primarily for his role as Coach Ernie Pantusso on the sitcom Cheers. He also appeared in feature films which include Fat City, Family Plot, and Raging Bull.

As a director, Colasanto worked on over two dozen American TV series between 1966 and 1981, including such hits as Hawaii Five-O, Columbo, Starsky and Hutch and CHiPs.

Biography

He attended Bryant University, now located in Smithfield, Rhode Island, and was a decorated veteran of World War II.

Colasanto directed two episodes of Columbo: "Étude in Black", starring John Cassavetes as conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, and "Swan Song", starring Johnny Cash as a murdering country and western singer. At one point, during the episode, Cash's character refers to his (unseen) colleague "Nick Solacanto".

As an actor he appeared in a number of popular television series, including Mannix, Kojak, Ironside and Lou Grant.

Colasanto died of a heart ailment on February 12, 1985 at the age of 61, just as Cheers was achieving its greatest success. His character was not re-cast; instead Cheers hired Woody Harrelson to play the low IQ-ed Woody Boyd. After his death, Colasanto's presence on the show was represented by the placing of a picture of Geronimo on the wall of the show's primary set. The photo had previously hung in Colasanto's dressing room and was said to hold a special meaning to the actor. The picture remained on the set for the rest of the series' run.

Coach died shortly after the filming of episode 22 ("Cheerio, Cheers") of season 3. However, he appears (albeit rarely) in episodes following this and in the title credits up to the final episode of season 3. This was achieved by using outtakes from previous episodes.

Eight years after Colasanto's death, the show offered a subtle but important nod to him in its final scene: star Ted Danson walks up to and straightens the Geronimo picture before walking off stage for the last time.

External links

• Nicholas Colasanto at the Internet Movie Database
• Find-A-Grave profile for Nicholas Colasanto