Nicholas Colasanto

Colasanto was born on January 19, 1924, in Providence, Rhode Island,{{cite book|last=Brant|first=Marley|title=Happier Days: Paramount Television's Golden Sitcoms, 1974-1984|location=New York|publisher=Billboard|date=2006|isbn=9780823089338|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_3XnpqmYAxcC| page=231}} to Giuseppe "Joseph" Colasanto (1889 – 1944) and Maria "Mary" Colasanto (nee Gelfoni; 1889 – 1955), both first-generation Italian Americans.{{harvnb|Snauffer|2008|page=56}}: " 'He was very Italian, and family meant a lot to him,' [...] says old friend Dean Hargrove.""United States, Census, 1930", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XM8H-6ZH : Thu Jan 09 14:21:31 UTC 2025), Entry for Joseph Colasanto and Mary Colasanto, 1930."United States, Census, 1920", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJVP-RPR : Thu Jul 11 23:15:53 UTC 2024), Entry for Giuseppe Colasanto and Maria Colasanto, 1920. Colasanto attended Bryant University (now located in Smithfield, Rhode Island{{sfn|Snauffer|2008|page=51}}) and was a decorated veteran of World War II, during which he served as a coxswain in the United States Navy.{{cite book |first=Marley |last=Brant |page=231 |title=Happier Days: Paramount Television's Classic Sitcoms 1974–1984 |isbn=978-0-8230-8933-8 |publisher=Billboard Books |location=New York City |year=2006 }}

By 1951, he was a bookkeeper.{{Cite magazine |last=Keets |first=Heather |date=1994-02-11 |url=https://ew.com/article/1994/02/11/remembering-nicholas-colasanto-coach-cheers/ |title=Remembering Nicholas Colasanto as Coach on Cheers |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=2023-05-20 }} Around 1954, he intended to work as an accountant for a company in Saudi Arabia.{{cite news |title=Colasanto Strayed from Directing to Take Role as Cheers Bartender |date=1984-08-04 |at=p. 25, TV Plus section |newspaper=Schenectady Gazette |location=Schenectady, New York |access-date=2023-05-20 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SRMhAAAAIBAJ&dq=cheers%20coach%20worldly%20wise&pg=2377%2C1168140 }} Inspired by Henry Fonda's performance in the Broadway play Mister Roberts, Colasanto applied for American Academy of Dramatic Arts but was rejected, so he joined a small theater company instead in Phoenix, Arizona.

Colasanto is best known for his role as Coach Ernie Pantusso, a character in the television sitcom Cheers. His early acting career included a theatrical play A Hatful of Rain (1956), starring Ben Gazzarra, and another role that earned him an Obie Award nomination in 1962. He also directed episodes of many television series, including Hawaii Five-O,{{sfn|Rhodes|1997|pages=55–56, 58, 70}} Starsky & Hutch,{{cite news |title=Nicholas Colasanto, Cheers Bartender |url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1985-02-13/news/8501050857_1_ted-danson-nbc-tv-series-cheers-nicholas-colasanto |website= Sun Sentinel |agency=United Press International |date=February 13, 1985 |access-date= October 9, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151103204411/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1985-02-13/news/8501050857_1_ted-danson-nbc-tv-series-cheers-nicholas-colasanto |archive-date=November 3, 2015 |url-status=dead }} The Streets of San Francisco, Bonanza,{{cite book |first1=Bruce R. |last1=Leiby |first2=Linda F. |last2=Leiby |chapter= Part II: Episode Guide / Fourteenth Season |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=IzOSCgAAQBAJ&q=nick+colasanto+bonanza+twenty-sixth+grave+-wikipedia&pg=PA185 |title=A Reference Guide to Television's Bonanza: Episodes, Personnel and Broadcast History |url= |page= [https://books.google.com/books?id=IzOSCgAAQBAJ 184] |publisher= McFarland & Company, Inc. |location= Jefferson, North Carolina |access-date=October 9, 2015 |via= Google Books |isbn= 978-1-4766-0075-8 |date=May 31, 2012l}} Columbo, and CHiPs.{{cite web |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=U4UUAAAAIBAJ&pg=6721%2C375187 |title=Celebrity Mailbag |newspaper= Toledo Blade |date= March 2, 2002 |access-date= December 31, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160527034217/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=U4UUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xwMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6721,375187 |archive-date= May 27, 2016 |url-status=live }} He also appeared in feature films, including The Counterfeit Killer (1968),{{cite book |first=John |last=Willis |year=1983 |orig-year=1969 |title= Screen World: 1969 |url= |publisher= Biblio and Tannen |isbn=0-8196-0310-4 |volume=20 |page= [https://books.google.com/books?id=k1LnvFcRzfQC&q=%22The%20Counterfeit%20Killer%22%20%22nicholas%20colasanto%22%20-wikipedia%20-imdb&pg=PA95 95] |access-date= }} Fat City (1972),{{cite news |first=Jack|last=Jones|title=N. Colasanto; Played Coach Role in Cheers.|work=Los Angeles Times| date=February 13, 1985| url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-02-13-mn-4540-story.html| access-date=December 27, 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121001033259/http://articles.latimes.com/1985-02-13/news/mn-4540_1_heart-ailment|archive-date=October 1, 2012| url-status=live}} and Alfred Hitchcock's Family Plot (1976).

Colasanto was in demand as an actor and director, but in the mid-1970s he was diagnosed with heart disease, which was exacerbated by his alcoholism.{{sfn|Snauffer|2008|page=52}} After twenty years of alcoholism, he became an active member of Alcoholics Anonymous from March 31, 1976, and became sober in the same year.{{cite news |first=Barbara| last=Holsopple|title=Cheers pays tribute to 'Coach' |work=The Pittsburgh Press |date=February 14, 1985|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6kkcAAAAIBAJ&pg=5807%2C6547332 |access-date=January 27, 2012}} In the late 1970s, he began having difficulty securing directing jobs as his health was declining. His last major film role was as mob boss Tommy Como in Raging Bull (1980).{{cite news|title= Nick Colasanto Dead at 61; Played Bartender in 'Cheers'| work= The New York Times|date= February 14, 1985|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1985/02/14/arts/nick-colasanto-dead-at-61-played-bartender-in-cheers.html?scp=2&sq=Nicholas%20Colasanto&st=cse|access-date= December 27, 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130516075132/http://www.nytimes.com/1985/02/14/arts/nick-colasanto-dead-at-61-played-bartender-in-cheers.html?scp=2&sq=Nicholas%20Colasanto&st=cse|archive-date= May 16, 2013|url-status= live}}

Colasanto was preparing to retire when the role of Coach Ernie Pantusso was offered to him on Cheers. Coach would become his best known role.{{sfn|Snauffer|2008|page=52}} By the third season of Cheers, Colasanto's health had seriously deteriorated. His fellow cast members noticed his weight loss, but Colasanto kept the severity of his illness secret.{{sfn|Snauffer|2008|page=55}} Shortly after the Christmas holiday in 1984, he was admitted to a local hospital for water in his lungs.{{sfn|Snauffer|2008|page=55}} Co-star Ted Danson later said Colasanto had difficulty remembering his lines during production of the season.{{sfn|Snauffer|2008|page=55}}

When Colasanto was released from the hospital in the week of January 28 – February 3, 1985, after a two-week stay,{{cite news |title=Coach on TV's Cheers actor Colasanto dies at 61 |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XDcjAAAAIBAJ&pg=4202%2C877761 |newspaper= The Montreal Gazette |location= |agency= Associated Press |date=February 13, 1985 |page=D-8 |access-date=October 10, 2015 |via= Google News Archive |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160128061449/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XDcjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tqUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4202%2C877761 |archive-date= January 28, 2016 |url-status=live }} his doctor recommended he should not return to work.{{sfn|Snauffer|2008|page=56}} Although he appeared in the cold opening of the third-season finale episode "Rescue Me" (1985),{{sfn|Snauffer|2008|page=56}} Colasanto's last full episode was "Cheerio Cheers" (1985), which was filmed in late November 1984.{{cite news |last=Gendel |first=Morgan |date=April 6, 1985 |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4D0yAAAAIBAJ&pg=1197%2C1866009 |newspaper= The Montreal Gazette |access-date=October 8, 2015 |via= Google News Archive |title=Loss of key cast members a fact of TV life |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128133632/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4D0yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=raUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1197%2C1866009 |archive-date= January 28, 2016 |url-status=live }} Morgan Gendel worked for Los Angeles Times at the time of publication.

Colasanto died of a heart attack at his home on February 12, 1985, at the age of 61.{{cite magazine|first=Heather|last=Keets|title=Coach's Last Call|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=February 11, 1994|url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,301061,00.html|access-date=December 27, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106070152/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,301061,00.html|archive-date=January 6, 2010|url-status=dead}} A memorial service was held in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, and attended by the full staff and cast of Cheers.{{Cite web|last=Levine|first=Ken|date=2016-08-26|title=By Ken Levine: Friday Questions|url=https://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2016/08/friday-questions_26.html|access-date=2021-01-12|website=By Ken Levine}} In addition, over 300 mourners, including castmate John Ratzenberger, attended the February 16 funeral Mass at Holy Cross Church in Providence.{{cite news|agency=The Associated Press|date=February 17, 1985|newspaper=The Miami Herald|title=300 Mourn 'Coach' Colasanto|at=page 4, section B (Local), Obituary column}}{{Cite web|title=Services planned for 'Cheers' bartender|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/02/14/Services-planned-for-Cheers-bartender/6308477205200/|access-date=2021-01-12|website=UPI|language=en}} Colasanto is buried in Saint Ann Cemetery in Cranston, Rhode Island.{{sfn|Snauffer|2008|page=57}}

On April 19, 1985, Colasanto was posthumously awarded the Best Supporting Actor by Viewers for Quality Television, a non-profit organization that determined what was considered high-quality on television.{{cite news|title=The Results Are In for Quality Television's First Poll|page=E9|agency=The Associated Press|author=Buck, Jerry|edition=Three star|date=April 19, 1985|newspaper=The Orlando Sentinel|publisher=Sentinel Communications Company |via= NewsBank}} Record no: 0290180135.

Colasanto's character was written out of the show as also having died. The fourth-season premiere episode, "Birth, Death, Love and Rice" (1985), deals with Coach's death and introduces Colasanto's successor Woody Harrelson, who played Woody Boyd."Birth, Death, Love, and Rice." 1985. Cheers: Season 4: The Complete Fourth Season. Paramount, 2009. DVD. Colasanto had hung a picture of Geronimo in his dressing room; after his death it was placed on the wall in the bar of the Cheers production set in his memory. Near the end of the final episode of Cheers in 1993, eight years after Colasanto's death, bar owner Sam Malone (Ted Danson) walks over to the picture and straightens it.{{cite news|title=TV's favorite bar turns off the tap|author=Liner, Elaine|page=A1|date=May 21–22, 1993|newspaper=Corpus Christi Caller-Times|location=Texas}} Record no at NewsBank: 113001A60C3FB35B {{registration required}}.

• The Counterfeit Killer (1968) – Plainclothesman
• Fat City (1972) – Ruben
• The Manchu Eagle Murder Caper Mystery (1975){{cite encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kW8j6sHvrewC&q=Manchu%20Eagle%20Murder%20Caper%20Mystery%20colasanto%20-wikipedia&pg=PA233|title=Dean Hargrove|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors|page=233|via=Google Books|isbn=9780810863781|last1=Roberts|first1=Jerry|date=June 5, 2009|access-date=September 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430013241/https://books.google.com/books?id=kW8j6sHvrewC&lpg=PA233&dq=Manchu%20Eagle%20Murder%20Caper%20Mystery%20colasanto%20-wikipedia&pg=PA233#v=onepage&q=Manchu%20Eagle%20Murder%20Caper%20Mystery%20colasanto%20-wikipedia&f=false|archive-date=April 30, 2016|url-status=live}} – Bert
• Family Plot (1976) – Constantine
• Raging Bull (1980) – Tommy Como, mob boss

• Cheers (1982–1985) – Coach Ernie Pantusso, co-bartender (final appearance)
• The Streets of San Francisco – "Deathwatch" (1973)

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• Run for Your Life (1965–1968)
• Ironside – "The Challenge" (1968){{cite AV media|title=Ironside: Season 1 |medium=DVD |publisher=Shout Factory |asin=B000MGBSQM }}
• Hawaii Five-O – "A Thousand Pardons, You're Dead" (1969),{{sfn|Rhodes|1997|page=55}} "To Hell with Babe Ruth" (1969),{{sfn|Rhodes|1997|page=56}} "Just Lucky, I Guess" (1969),{{sfn|Rhodes|1997|page=58}} and "Most Likely to Murder" (1970){{sfn|Rhodes|1997|page=70}}
• Bonanza – "Ambush at Rio Lobo" (1972)
• Hec Ramsey{{cite encyclopedia |first=Vincent |last=Terrace |year=1985 |title=1121 Hec Ramsey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AKlgjBCPPnsC&dq=nicholas%20colasanto%20%22hec%20ramsey%22%20-site%3Awikipedia.org%20-site%3Aimdb.com&pg=PA189 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials 1974–1984 |volume=2 |page=189 |publisher=New York Zoetrope |isbn=0-918432-61-8 |lccn=84-061786 }} – "The Detroit Connection" (1973)
• Columbo – "Étude in Black" (1972) and "Swan Song" (1974)
• Nakia (1974) – "No Place to Hide"{{sfn|Bjorklund|page=39}} and "A Matter of Choice"{{sfn|Bjorklund|page=39}}
• Logan's Run – "Man Out of Time" (1977){{cite episode |url=http://www.vudu.com/movies/#!overview/252654/Logans-Run-Man-Out-of-Time |series=Logan's Run |title=Man Out of Time |website=Vudu |number=5 |season=1 |access-date=January 28, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180105204346/https://www.vudu.com/movies/#!overview/252654/Logans-Run-Man-Out-of-Time |archive-date=January 5, 2018 |url-status=live }}
• The Name of the Game
• Starsky & Hutch
• The Streets of San Francisco
• CHiPs

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{{reflist}}

• {{cite book|last=Bjorklund |first=Dennis A |title=Cheers TV Show: A Comprehensive Reference |pages=35–39 |publisher=Praetorian Publishing }}
• {{cite book |last=Rhodes |first=Karen |year=1997 |title=Booking Hawaii Five-O: An Episode Guide and Critical History of the 1968–1980 Television Detective Series |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_FruSwC9UjwC |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc. |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |isbn=978-0-7864-3108-3 }}
• {{cite book |last=Snauffer |first=Douglas |year=2008 |title=The Show Must Go On: How the Deaths of Lead Actors Have Affected Television Series |isbn=978-0-7864-3295-0 |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc. |location=Jefferson, NC }}

• Evory, Ann. Contemporary Newsmakers: 1985 Cumulation. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1986. Print. {{ISBN|978-0-8103-2201-1}}.

• {{IMDb name|id=0170225|name=Nicholas Colasanto}}
• {{Find a Grave|2372}}
• {{FamilySearch|id=LC2W-SSH|title=Nicholas Thomas Colasanto}}
• [http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=wiarchives&cc=wiarchives&idno=uw-whs-tape00339a&type=boolean&rgn=Entire+Finding+Aid&q1=Colosanto&op2=Or&q2=Cologanto&op3=And&q3=&location=all&Submit=Search Nicholas Colasanto] at the University of Wisconsin's [https://web.archive.org/web/20121106225845/http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=wiarchives;view=reslist;subview=standard;didno=uw-whs-tape00339a;focusrgn=summaryinfo;cc=wiarchives;byte=50771135 Actors Studio audio collection]
• [https://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=3060&mtch=2&cat=all&tf=F&q=039096143&bc=sd&rpp=10&pg=1&rid=480184&rlst=480184,480185 NARA - AAD - Display Full Records - Application (SS-5) Files, 1936 - 2007 (Last Names C through D)] on Archives.gov

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Category:1924 births

Category:1985 deaths

Category:American male film actors

Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II

Category:American male television actors

Category:American television directors

Category:Bryant University alumni

Category:Male actors from Providence, Rhode Island

Category:20th-century American male actors

Category:United States Navy sailors

Category:American people of Italian descent

Category:Military personnel from Rhode Island