Eugene Roche

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Eugene Roche
Born Eugene Harrison Roche
September 22, 1928(1928-09-22)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died July 28, 2004(2004-07-28) (aged 75)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation Character actor, commercial pitchman
Years active 1961-2004

Eugene Harrison Roche (September 22, 1928 - July 28, 2004) was an American actor (Foul Play, Soap) . He was the original "Ajax Man" in 1970s television commercials.

Contents

[edit] Personal life

Roche 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. Roche died in Los Angeles, California from a heart attack, aged 75.

[edit] Career

Roche 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 United States 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.

[edit] All in the Family episode (as Pinky Peterson)

Roche also appeared as practical jokester "Pinky Peterson", one of Archie Bunker's buddies, on the hit 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, and 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.

[edit] Magnum.P.I.

Roche, also played the curmudgeonly “old school” private investigator Luther Gillis on Magnum P.I., who often referred to series character Jonathan Quayle Higgins III as the butler. Luther H. Gillis — mock-film noir private eye from St. Louis, and narrator of the five episodes in which he appeared in Seasons 4 through 8.

[edit] Other TV roles

Plump and jovial with glinting eyes, Roche costarred on TV’s Webster as a lovable landlord named Bill Parker.

Roche also sly attorney E. Ronald Mallu on the sitcom Soap and the newspaper editor Harry Burns on Perfect Strangers. He also played Jor Brel in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Remember".

[edit] Film

One of his most memorable movie roles was in 1971s Slaughterhouse-Five, based on the novel by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Roche played a likable POW named Edgar Derby, who amid the scorched remains of a firebombed Dresden picks up an intact porcelain figurine as a souvenir — and is promptly executed for looting by his German captors.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Further reading

[edit] References

  1. ^ Eugene Roche Biography (1928-)

[edit] External links

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