He died. He was 85 years old. Joe E. Tata, who portrayed the endearing Peach Pit diner owner Nat Bussichio on all 10 seasons of the original Beverly Hills, is the one.
Tata passed away on Wednesday night, as announced by his daughter, Kelly Katharine Tata, on a GoFundMe page. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2018 and in April, he relocated to the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital, as stated earlier by his daughter. A spokesperson for the Woodland Hills facility confirmed his passing at that location.
In the Batman series from 1966 to 1968 on ABC, Victor Buono portrayed King Tut, Burgess Meredith portrayed the Penguin, and Frank Gorshin portrayed the Riddler. These three supervillains had henchmen who played various roles.
During the 1970s, he made his presence known as Solly Marshall, a bail bondsman (and several other individuals) on The Rockford Files, an NBC television series. Additionally, in the 1960s, he made appearances on three science fiction shows produced by Irwin Allen – The Time Tunnel (playing the role of Napoleon once), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and Lost in Space, which aired on ABC and CBS respectively.
In the 1974 CBS telefilm “Alive and Good”, Reese Wee Pee played the role of Brooklyn Dodgers’ shortstop Roy Campanella in a biopic about him and his teammate. In the 1978 NBC TV movie “The Story of Lou Gehrig and Eleanor”, Lefty Gomez portrayed the New York Yankees’ left-handed pitcher.
During episode 238 of his run on 90210 from 1990-2000, Frankie was in the hospital giving birth while Julie Parrish, Diamond Joan’s former flame, exchanged wedding vows with Luke Perry in a club. They then turned the next space into an after-hours club, partnering with Dylan at the Pit. Frankie also suffered a near-fatal heart attack. Nat’s Tata’s provided a wonderful hangout for the high school kids and served a delicious Mega burger at the diner.
Tata came back as the restaurant proprietor for the series revival in 2008 but had limited involvement thereafter.
The Joe E. Tata show frequently seemed like the setting for the 90210 ensemble, even though the Peach Pit was a 90210 set. His colleague Ian Ziering referred to Tata as “one of the most joyful individuals I’ve ever collaborated with, he was just as giving with his benevolence as he was with his insight on Instagram.”
Tata was born on September 13, 1936, as the son of a vaudevillian. He made his first appearance onscreen in a 1960 episode of Peter Gunn and later served in the military.
He went on to appear in other shows such as 90210, before landing on Hill Street Blues and The Story of San Francisco Streets. He also appeared in The F.B.I., Mannix, Hogan’s Heroes, and Ben Casey. Additionally, he played the role of Gomer Pyle in Sergeants and No Time for Sergeants.
In a 2011 interview, he said that if he were a part of the company, he would sometimes go to the Fox lot where the show was filmed and enjoyed working on Batman.
“Leave this place!” Exclaimed Stanley, chuckling. Stanley Ralph Ross, a writer for Batman, whom I unexpectedly encountered. Alongside Burgess Meredith, I had recently been chosen for a role in a different episode called ‘Hizzonner the Penguin’ or ‘Dizzoner the Penguin’. “Stanley, can you do me a favor?” I requested. “If you ever happen to write something that involves me, could you kindly consider assigning me the role of a henchman? I typically portray henchmen, but I desire the audience to truly perceive me as one.”
When I got the script for the Penguin story, I saw that I was playing surprise, surprise — the #1 G.O.O.N. I wore a black derby, a black turtleneck, a pair of black shoes, and carried a black umbrella. However, across my chest, white letters written in huge white letters spelled out “G-O-O-N” for short, was that club Batman was going to destroy.