Tony Rosato in an “SNL” publicity photo circa 1980; NBC/NBCU Photo Bank(TORONTO) — Tony Rosato, a former cast member of both Saturday Night Live and SCTV, has died at the age of 62.
His death was confirmed to the CBC by his former agent, Larry Goldhar. It’s believed Rosato died from a heart attack.
The Italian-born Rosato, along Martin Short and Robin Duke, was one of only three performers to have been cast members of both Saturday Night Live and SCTV. He joined the latter in 1980, and a year later joined the cast of SNL alongside Duke, Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo.
One of his memorable SCTV sketches was “Cooking with Marcello,” about a TV chef whose show always ended in disaster.
Rosato continued to work as an actor and was a regular on the Canadian TV police drama Night Heat between 1985 and 1989. He also did considerable animation voiceover work.
In later years, Rosato’s life was put on hold when was imprisoned in 2005 after allegedly threatening his wife and daughter, believing they’d been replaced by impostors. He was ultimately diagnosed with the mental illness known as Capgras syndrome. He spent some four years total in both prison and a mental health facility before he was released in 2009.
Rosato remained active in the entertainment industry, working through 2016. Funeral details have yet to be revealed.
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