Eugene Roche, R.I.P.

Sad to hear of the passing of a darn good actor named Eugene Roche, who died last Wednesday at age 75. Frequently recognized but never enough of a star that everyone knew him by name, he still managed to work constantly and to be widely respected by his peers. He was a regular or semi-regular on a wide list of TV shows including All in the Family, Webster, Soap, Dave's World and Magnum, P.I., and turned up in an awful lot of movies, too. People often recalled him from his role in Slaughterhouse Five but I always think of how good he was in the Art Carney starrer, The Late Show. I can't recall ever seeing him in anything where he wasn't good.

I had the honor of meeting him a few times and almost working with him once. He impressed me as one of those actors who loved acting and gave it just as much seriousness as it deserves. I was looking forward to seeing him again at the Hollywood Collectors Show in October and am sorry than none of us will have that pleasure.