Top Gun and Beverly Hills Cop actor Frank Pesce has died aged 75 from dementia complications.
Frank’s girlfriend Tammy Scher told Deadline that he passed away on February 6 following dementia complications.
Born on December 8, 1946, in New York City, the talented star became well-known for his impressive character acting and larger-than-life personality.
The actor was a longtime close friend of Rocky star Sylvester Stallone, Tony Danza, the late Robert Forster and among many other industry players.
Frank began his career in the mid-1970s, starring inTV series such as Police Story and Kojak and featuring in the early Stallone films Rocky and Paradise Alley.
(Image: CBS via Getty Images)
The Hollywood actor then went on to continue with his screen career into the 2010s, with guest features on hit shows such as Cagney & Lacey, Knight Rider, The Greatest American Hero, Matlock, Who’s the Boss? and Miami Vice.
By this point, he had already made appearances in other films such as American Gigolo, Young Doctors in Love and Vigilante and Flashdance.
However, one of his most recognisable roles was in the first two Simpson and Bruckheimer’s Beverly Hills Cop films.
Frank posed as a cigarette buyer in the turbulent opening scene of the first film and as a hood who Eddie Murphy’s Axel Foley accuses of being a cop in the second movie.
He also famously acted as a bartender in the Simpson-Bruckheimer film Top Gun.
And later as a bail jumper in the Robert De Niro-Charles Grodin action-comedy classic Midnight Run.
According to reports, Frank always said: “They make movies about guys like me.”
And that quote will be written on his gravestone, his partner Scher said.
Along with his partner, Frank is survived by his brother, Vito Pesce, nieces Vanessa Pesce and Danielle Pesce, and sister-in-law Catherine Pesce.
The actor will be buried on February 18 in New York City at Saint Raymond’s Cemetery in the Bronx.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
