Seinfeld star Gene Dynarski has died aged 86.
Born Eugene Dynarski, the US actor was famed for his role as Izzy Mandelbaum Jr on the hit sitcom, son of series regular Izzy Mandelbaum, played by Lloyd Bridges.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dynarski died at a rehabilitation centre in Studio City on February 27.
The playwright Ernest Kearney broke the news of the actor’s death earlier this week.
Before launching his acting career, Dynarski, who was born in the NYC borough of Brooklyn, worked as a “pin monkey” at a bowling alley and served in the US navy.
Moving to LA, he put his name to a number of successful films and TV shows – most notably Seinfeld.
Dynarski played Izzy Mandelbaum Jr on Seinfeld back in the 90s
Dynarski also featured in the popular sci-fi series Star Trek, appearing in two episodes.
He starred in Star Trek: The Original Series – playing Ben and Krodak – back in the 60s.
Two decades later, Dynarski nabbed a role in the rebooted series of Star Trek: The Next Generation, playing Commander Orfil Quinteros.
Dynarski landed roles in a number of hit TV shows and starred in two Stephen Spielberg films
He also played Ike in Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, years after landing a role in another flick by the esteemed director – Duel.
In another sci-fi venture, he played Benedict, one of Egghead’s (Vincent Price) henchmen in the 1966 film adaption of Batman.
More recently, in 2000, he appeared on The X-Files, though his character was killed by a monster bat before the episode was out.
Creating a legacy, in 1979 he opened The Gene Dynarski Theatre in Los Angeles, near the legendary Sunset Boulevard strip.
Though the theatre closed its doors in the mid-90s, huge names like Tom Hanks performed on the theatre’s stage over the years.
Dynarski is survived by his two daughters.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
