| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Eugene Roche | ||||
| Personal Information | ||||
| Birthname: | Eugene Harrison Roche | |||
| Born: | September 22, 1928 | |||
| Birthplace: | Boston, Massaschusetts, U.S. | |||
| Died: | July 28, 2004 (aged 75) | |||
| Deathplace: | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |||
| Occupation/ Career: |
Actor, Voice Over Artist | |||
| Years active: | 1951–2004, his death | |||
| Spouse(s): | Marjory Perkins (1953 - 1981, divorced) 9 children Anntoni C. Bratman (16 April 1982 - 28 July 2004, his death) | |||
| Character/Series involvement | ||||
| Series: | All in the Family | |||
| Episodes appeared in: | 3 episodes in Seasons 6 & 7 | |||
| Character played: | Pinky Peterson | |||
Eugene Roche (22 September 1928 - 28 July 2004) appeared in three episodes of All in the Family as Pinky Peterson, a practical joker, one of Archie Bunker's buddies, and fellow lodge member on the hit CBS-TV series. A versatile veteran television actor, Eugene appeared in both sitcoms and dramatic series, which included appearances on such popular shows as Kojak, SOAP, Airwolf, Webster and Magnum, P.I..
Personal life[]
Eugene was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Mary M. (née Finnegan) and Robert F. Roche, who was at the time serving in the U.S. Navy.[1] He was the father of nine children including actors Eamonn Roche, Brogan Roche, and Emmy Award-winning writer/producer Sean Roche.
Career[]
Eugene made his Broadway debut in 1961 as a bit player in the play Blood, Sweat and Stanley Poole with Darren McGavin and went on to act in Mother Courage with Anne Bancroft in 1963 and The White House with Helen Hayes in 1964. In Hollywood, Roche would go on to appear in myriad supporting character roles, both dramatic and comedic, that would define his acting career.
Television comedy would became his forte on with recurring roles on Soap as Jessica Tate's lovelorn attorney, Night Court as Christine Sullivan's overbearing father, and Perfect Strangers as Larry Appleton's boss. He also had choice support parts came his way on film, including The Late Show (1977) starring Lily Tomlin and Art Carney and Foul Play (1978) starring Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn.
Roche was also known on Airwolf as U.S. Senator William Dietz in the pilot episode "Shadow of the Hawke" in season 1 and as a drunken friend of Dominic Santini's named Eddie in the episode "Firestorm" in season 2.
All in the Family[]
Roche also appeared as practical jokester Pinky Peterson, one of Archie Bunker's buddies, on the popular CBS-TV series All in the Family. In a memorable Christmas Day episode called "The Draft Dodger" (Episode 146, 1976), Pinky, whose son was killed in the Vietnam War, has Christmas dinner with the Bunkers, and an acquaintance of Gloria and Mike (David Brewster, portrayed by actor Renny Temple), who was a draft evader living in Canada, at the time. Archie angrily confronted David over this and treated him harshly. Pinky calmly and respectfully disagreed with Archie's opinion, defended David and said he would be honored to have dinner with him, as would his son. Roche reprised the role in a few more All in the Family episodes during the next couple of seasons.
Death[]
Roche died in an Encino, CA of a myocardial infarction at the age of 75. [2]
Further reading[]
- Eugene Roche, Actor, 75, In TV and Film - obituary in the New York Times (2004-7-31)
- Tom Vallance: Eugene Rocke - obituary in the Independent (2004-8-4)
- Myrna Oliver: Eugene Roche, 75; Character Actor in Films, Television - obituary in the Los Angeles Times (2004-8-2)
References[]
- ↑ Eugene Roche Biography (1928-)
- ↑ Eugene Roche, 75, Actor in TV and Film, Dies, nytimes.com, July 31, 2004; accessed August 27, 2015.
