Where To Watch
R.I.P. Harvey Atkin, the mustachioed actor of 'Cagney & Lacey' and 'Meatballs'
The Canadian also played a judge on 'Law & Order' series for 13 years.
Every summer camp movie needs its authority figure, the adult straight-man who becomes the subject of teen pranks. For Meatballs, the epitome of the sleepaway camp comedy, that character was Morty Melnick, director of Camp North Star, the poor sap that Bill Murray's character picks on throughout the 1979 film.
Morty Melnick sported a thick mustache and even thicker glasses. These were not a costume, rather the signature look of actor Harvey Atkin. The immediately recognizable character actor looked much the same portraying desk sergeant Ronald Coleman on Cagney & Lacey, the hit 1982–88 female buddy-cop TV series.
Years later, Atkin popped up frequently as a judge in the Law & Order television universe, between 1998–2011, appearing on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order.
The Canadian character actor also worked on several cartoons. Notably, Atkin voiced Super Mario Bros. villain "King Koopa" Bowser in three different series based on the popular Nintendo games.
According to Variety, Atkin passed away yesterday in Toronto after a battle with cancer. He was 74.
People we have lost in 2017
Related
0 Comments
