Seinfeld and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind actor Gene Dynarski has died at 86
Character actor Gene Dynarski has died at the age of 86.
Dynarski passed away in February in a rehabilitation center in Studio City, California, according to friend playwright Ernest Kearney, per The Hollywood Reporter.
He was perhaps best known for his part in Steven Speilberg’s Close Encounters Of The Third Kind as well as TV roles on the original Star Trek series and beloved sitcom Seinfeld.
Character actor Gene Dynaski has died at the age of 86. He was known for appearances on Seinfeld, Star Trek and the Steven Spielberg flick Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
The cause of death has yet to be disclosed. He is survived by two daughters.
Brooklyn native Eugene ‘Gene’ ‘Dynarski began his acting career back in 1965 with an appearance on the ABC medical drama Ben Casey.
Through it his decades in the industry he appeared in countless hits, including films like 1974’s Earthquake, Airport 1975 and All the President’s Men.
Comic caper: Gene Dynarski is seen on the Batman television series in 1966
His TV credits include Batman, Hill Street Blues, The A-Team, Little House On The Prairie, Starsky And Hutch, Kung Fu, Kojak, Bonanza, The Monkees and more.
Dynarski memorably appeared as the cantankerous and competitive Izzy Mandelbaum Jr. on two episodes of Seinfeld.
He appeared twice on the original Star Trek in the late 60s and then returned to the franchise with a spot on Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1988.
Dynarski was a patron of the theater, opening The Gene Dynarski Theatre in Los Angeles in 1979.
Its first production starred Ed Harris in Tennessee Williams’ Sweet Bird Of Youth. The stage also saw the talents of Elisabeth Shue and Tom Hanks until the theater closed its doors in the mid-1990s.