The Soap Opera Connection You Never Knew Bob Lupone Had
Veteran actor Robert LuPone appeared in numerous television shows and made a name for himself on and off Broadway, but most audiences will remember the late entertainer for his role on the hit show "The Sopranos." LuPone, who died on August 27, 2022, after a three-year-long battle with pancreatic cancer, played Dr. Bruce Cusamano, Tony Soprano's family doctor nicknamed "Cooze" on the HBO mob drama, according to CBS News. He was also the brother of the Tony-award-winning actress and singer, Patti LuPone, known for her reign on Broadway beginning in the 1970s.
Like his sister, Bob got his start on the stage, appearing in such shows as "A Chorus Line," "The Magic Show," and "A Thousand Clowns." He even co-founded the off-Broadway theater company Manhattan Class Company, now known as MCC Theater, in 1986. What some of his fans might not realize is that he also made a name for himself in daytime television way back in the 1980s.
He was once nominated for a Daytime Emmy
Some of actor Robert LuPone's first roles in television were on soap operas, beginning with "Ryan's Hope" in 1979 (via IMDb). He played Chester Wallace for only nine episodes on that ABC soap, but he graduated to a regular cast member when he joined NBC's "Search for Tomorrow" in 1983, playing Tom Bergman for 77 episodes. However, it was his role on "All My Children" in 1984 that would earn LuPone a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role, according to SoapHub. LuPone played a con man who seduced Pine Valley's wealthy Marion Colby Chandler (Jennifer Bassey), only to then blackmail her after learning her secrets. In good soap opera fashion, his character was then murdered, launching a whodunnit storyline that involved the show's biggest characters at the time.
LuPone didn't shy away from additional roles on soap operas after that, taking recurring parts on "Another World" and "Loving" in the 1990s, all of which likely prepared him for guest roles on primetime shows such as "Sex and the City," "Ally McBeal," and "Law & Order" before he eventually earned his famous role on "The Sopranos." Soap opera fans never forget their favorite stars, so of course, at least one fan on Twitter shared the actor's obit along with the comment, "Not Zach Grayson from All My Children and Neal Cory from Another World. D*mn!"