R.I.P. John Cygan of 'The Commish' and 'Bob'

By: H&I Staff     Posted: May 16, 2017, 9:52AM    Tags: News

Image: Everett Collection

John Cygan, an actor best known for this role of Lt. Paulie Pentangeli on The Commish, died Saturday at the age of 63.

Before his most famous role, Cygan was a regular cast member on the short-lived Bob Newhart sitcom Bob. 

When the sitcom was canceled after one season, Cygan began to appear on The Commish as Pentangeli, the second-in-command to police commissioner Tony Scali, played by Michael Chiklis.

Cygan appeared in 35 episodes of the series. His character was fired from the department at the start of the second season after shooting an unarmed suspect, but returned to the show in season four.

After The Commish ended in 1996, Cygan continued to make guest appearances on shows like Frasier, Diagnosis Murder and NYPD Blue.

In addition to his onscreen performance, Cygan was also an accomplished voice actor. He voiced characters for several Pixar films, including Cars (2006), WALL-E (2008), Up (2009), Toy Story 3 (2010), Monsters University (2013) and Inside Out (2015).

Cygan also lent his voice to Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006), Horton Hears a Who! (2008), The Lorax (2012) and Despicable Me 2 (2013). 

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cygan died at his home in Los Angeles after a battle with cancer. He's survived by his wife, Cathy, and children Annie and Jack.