Comic actor Jay Thomas, who starred in “Cheers,” “Murphy Brown,” and “Ray Donovan,” died Thursday at home in Santa Barbara at age 69 after a battle against cancer.
Thomas’ agent and friend Don Buchwald announced the news, saying, “Jay was one of a kind, never at a loss for words and filled with so much fun and wonderfully wacky thoughts and behavior,” the New York Daily News reported.
Thomas played Jerry Gold on “Murphy Brown” from 1989 to 1998, a role for which he earned two Emmy awards. He also played Rhea Perlman’s TV husband Eddie LeBec from 1987 to 1989 until his character was killed off by being run over by a Zamboni.
He also had roles on “Love and War,” “Mork and Mindy,” “Bones,” and “NCIS: New Orleans.”
Thomas was a recurring visitor on the "David Letterman Show" and appeared in films such as "The Santa Clause" trilogy and "Mr. Holland’s Opus." He also had a popular talk show on Sirius XM.
Thomas is survived by his wife Sally and sons Sam, Jake, and J.T., who were with him when he died, the Daily News reported.
Twitter users and fellow actors shared their sadness at the news.
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