He began having trouble securing directing jobs by the end of the 1970s due to his declining health. After twenty years of alcoholism, he became an active member of Alcoholics Anonymous from March 31, 1976, and became sober in the same year. Īn in-demand actor and director, he had been diagnosed in the mid-1970s with heart disease, which was exacerbated by his alcoholism. Ĭolasanto appeared in feature films, including The Counterfeit Killer (1968), Fat City (1972), and Alfred Hitchcock's Family Plot (1976). Career and alcoholismĪlthough Colasanto was best known for his role as Coach Ernie Pantusso on the sitcom Cheers, he also directed episodes of many television series, notably Hawaii Five-O, Starsky & Hutch, Bonanza, Columbo, and CHiPs. Around 1954 he was supposed to be an accountant for a company in Saudi Arabia, but he instead attended American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He died of a heart attack at his home on February 12, 1985, at age 61.Ĭolasanto attended Bryant University (now located in Smithfield, Rhode Island ) and was a decorated veteran of World War II, during which he served as a coxswain in the United States Navy. By 1984 his worsening symptoms forced him to stop working on Cheers, and he filmed his last full episode in November 1984. He was diagnosed with heart disease in the mid-1970s.
He served in the United States Navy during World War II, and later attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in the 1950s. Nicholas Colasanto (Janu– February 12, 1985) was an American actor and television director, known for his role as "Coach" Ernie Pantusso in the American sitcom Cheers. Saint Ann Cemetery, Cranston, Rhode Island Studio City, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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