Peter Crombie, the actor who was probably best known for playing “Crazy” Joe Davola in five episodes of the hit television comedy “Seinfeld,” died Wednesday at a health care facility in Palm Springs, California. He was 71 years old.
Crombie was recovering from unspecified surgery, said his ex-wife, Nadine Kijner, who confirmed his death.
In his role as Davola, Crombie played a temperamental character who stalks Jerry (a semi-fictional version of comedian Jerry Seinfeld) and develops a deep hatred for him.
Tall and lanky, Crombie's character had a droning, almost menacing effect and an unblinking 1,000-metre stare. In the series, he also stalked tough New Yorker Elaine, in one case covering a wall of her apartment with black-and-white surveillance photographs of her.
In addition to his role on “Seinfeld,” Crombie also had roles in the films “Seven” (1995), “Rising Sun” (1993) and “Born on the Fourth of July” (1989), among other film and film acting credits. television. .
Crombie was born on June 26, 1952 and grew up in a neighborhood on the outskirts of Chicago.
His father was an art teacher and his mother taught home economics, Kijner said. Crombie trained at the Yale School of Drama before moving to New York.
Crombie and Kijner met in Boston in the late 1980s before marrying in 1991. Although they divorced a few years later, the two remained friends.
“He was like a rock,” she said. “He was someone you could always call and lean on.”
Kijner said Crombie is survived by a brother, Jim. He said Crombie stopped acting around 2000 and worked on his other passion, one of which was writing.
Comedian Lewis Black memorialized Crombie on social media, calling him a “wonderful actor” and “immensely talented writer.”
“More importantly, he was as sweet as he was smart and I am a better person for knowing him,” Mr. Black said. wrote.
“Seinfeld” writer Larry Charles also mourned Crombie’s death.
“His portrayal of Joe Davola managed to come across as real, grounded, psychopathic, absurd and funny all at the same time,” Charles wrote on social media. “This was a juxtaposition I always looked for in my Seinfeld episodes and it kind of climaxed with 'The Opera.' “Seinfeld was a sitcom that could make you uncomfortable, and no guest actor walked that line better than Peter.”
