Vale: Richard Roat

Prolific US character actor Richard Roat, who appeared in Seinfeld, Friends, Cheers, Murphy Brown, and Happy Days, has died, aged 89.

He died on August 5th in California according to his family. No other details were available.

Roat notched up over 130 credits spanning nearly a half-century.

He had a couple of bit parts before being cast as Dr. Jerry Chandler in the 1962 soap opera The Doctors, appearing in more than 170 episodes during the first year.

He became a busy character actor during the following decade on The Fugitive, Hawaii Five-O, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Columbo, Cannon, Throughout the 1980s and ’90s, he appeared on 7th Heaven, Cybill, The Practice, Ellen, Coach, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Murphy Brown, The Nanny, Melrose Place, Blossom, Grace Under Fire, Living Single, Mad About You, Lois & Clark, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Night Court, Baywatch, Murphy’s Law, Simon & Simon, L.A. Law, Matlock, ALF, St. Elsewhere, Hart to Hart and others.

Roat is remembered by Seinfeld fans as one of the doctors who found Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Elaine Benes to be a “difficult patient” in the Season 8 episode “The Package” in 1996. He also appeared as a professor colleague who busts Ross (David Schwimmer) for dating a student in a 2000 episode of Friends.

Source: Deadline