RIP Peter Boyle

Fellow comedists, I speak to you in mourning today for we have lost a giant...a big, green giant and I'm not talking Hans Delbruck.

Peter Boyle was a fantastic actor. His work in Joe and The Candidate were magnificent. But today he sits with Saint Shecky. Not for his admirable work in The Dream Team, Where the Buffalo Roam, or Everyone Loves Raymond. No, he made it directly into Comedy Heaven for the role one need not even mention. He had few lines and was surrounded by an obscene amount of talent, yet he was able to shine. The look of exasperation in the scene with Gene Hackman is a clinic on how to act without words. Truly a master.

I will never forget my uncle's wedding, when, during the reception, the band made the mistake of playing Puttin' On The Ritz. They hit the chorus and the entire room simultaneously launched into its best Peter Boyle impersonation.

Thank you Peter Boyle. You will be missed. "A sophisticated man about town," indeed.