David Marguiles, Ghostbusters
David Marguiles appears as the mayor of New York City in a scene from “Ghostbusters II.”
(Video still)
Veteran character actor David Margulies is dead, Broadway World announced Tuesday. Some publications list his age as 78, others say he was 88.
The New York native had appeared on stage for decades, starting with a Broadway revival of “The Iceman Cometh” in 1973, but may be best known for a number of small roles in films like “Ghostbusters.” He played the mayor of New York City in both the 1984 comedy and its 1989 sequel.
“If I’m wrong, nothing happens! We go to jail – peacefully, quietly. We’ll enjoy it! But if I’m right, and we can stop this thing… Lenny, you will have saved the lives of millions of registered voters,” Bill Murray’s character Dr. Peter Venkman told Margulies’ character.
A cause of death for Margulies has not been announced.
The actor also played Tony Soprano’s lawyer, Neil Mink, on “The Sopranos” and appeared in more than 75 other movies and TV shows including “All That Jazz,” (1979), “Dressed to Kill” (1980), “9 1/2 Weeks” (1986) and “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” (1994). In the latter, he played the doctor at a mental institution where Jim Carrey’s character attempts to get information about a former patient, Ray Finkle.
“Has he always had a history of mental illness?” the psychiatrist character asked Courteney Cox, referring to the pet detective.
Margulies’ final role will be as writer-activist Elie Wisel, one of Bernie Madoff’s fraud victims, in the upcoming ABC miniseries starring Richard Dreyfuss. “Madoff” premieres Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. ET.
