James Coco

Born in the Little Italy section of Manhattan,[1] Coco was the son of Felice Lescoco, a shoemaker, and Ida Detestes Lescoco (Coco being a shortened version of his birth name).

The family moved to the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx when he was an infant, where he lived until his late teens.[1]

James began acting straight out of high school.[2] He received his acting training at HB Studio[3] in New York City. As an overweight and prematurely balding adult, he found himself relegated to character roles. He made his Broadway debut in Hotel Paradiso in 1957, but his first major recognition was for Off-Broadway's The Moon in Yellow River by Denis Johnston, for which he won an Obie Award.[4]

Coco's first modern collaboration with playwright Terrence McNally was a 1968 off Broadway double-bill of the one-act plays Sweet Eros and Witness, followed by Here's Where I Belong, a disastrous Broadway musical adaptation of East of Eden that closed on opening night. They had far greater success with their next project, Next, a two-character play with Elaine Shore, which ran for more than 700 performances and won Coco the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance. Sixteen years later, the two would reunite for the Manhattan Theatre Club production of It's Only a Play.[4]

Coco also achieved success with Neil Simon, who wrote The Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1969) specifically for him. It earned him a Tony Award nomination as Best Actor in a Play. The two later joined forces for a Broadway revival of the musical Little Me and the films Murder by Death (1976), The Cheap Detective (1978) and Only When I Laugh (1981), for which he was both Oscar-nominated and Razzie-nominated.[5]

Coco, a veteran of many failed diets, was the author of the best selling book The James Coco Diet, released on February 1, 1983, which documented his successful weight reduction system. However, he outlived the release of his book by only four years.[6]

Coco's additional film credits include Ensign Pulver (1964), End of the Road (1970), The Strawberry Statement (1970), Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon (1970), A New Leaf (1971), Such Good Friends (1971), Man of La Mancha (1972), Scavenger Hunt (1979), Wholly Moses! (1980) and The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) as well as a starring role in The Wild Party (1975). Charleston (1977) Several of his films were released posthumously: Hunk (1987) and That's Adequate (1989).[5][7]

On television, Coco starred on two unsuccessful 1970s series, Calucci's Department and The Dumplings, and made guest appearances on many series, including ABC Stage 67, NBC Children’s Theater, The Edge of Night, Marcus Welby, M.D., Trapper John, M.D., Medical Center, Maude, Fantasy Island, Alice, The Eddie Capra Mysteries, Murder, She Wrote, The Muppet Show, The Carol Burnett Show, The Love Boat and St. Elsewhere, for which he won an Emmy Award. One of his last television assignments was a recurring role as Nick Milano on the sitcom Who's the Boss?.[7]

Coco died at St. Vincent's Hospital, Manhattan, on February 25, 1987, at age 56. He had suffered a heart attack at his Greenwich Village home.[2] He is buried in St. Gertrude's Roman Catholic Cemetery in Colonia, New Jersey.[8]

• Ensign Pulver (1964) - Skouras
• Generation (1969) - Mr. Blatto
• End of the Road (1970) - School Man
• The Strawberry Statement (1970) – Grocer
• Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon (1970) – Mario
• A New Leaf (1971) – Uncle Harry
• Such Good Friends (1971) – Timmy
• Man of La Mancha (1972) – Sancho Panza / Cervantes's Manservant
• VD Blues (1972) – Himself
• The Wild Party (1975) – Jolly Grimm
• Murder by Death (1976) – Milo Perrier
• Charleston (1977) – Joe Lo Monaco
• Bye Bye Monkey (1978) – Andreas Flaxman
• The Cheap Detective (1978) – Marcel
• Scavenger Hunt (1979) – Henri
• Wholly Moses! (1980) – Hyssop
• Only When I Laugh (1981) – Jimmy Perrino
• The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) – Mr. Skeffington
• Johnny Dangerously (1984) – Moronie's Bouncer (uncredited)
• Hunk (1987) – Dr. D
• The Chair (1988) – Dr. Harold Woodhouse Langer
• That's Adequate (1989) – Max Roebling (final film role)

• James Coco at IMDb
• James Coco at the Internet Broadway Database
• James Coco at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• James Coco at the TCM Movie Database
• James Coco at AllMovie
• James Coco at Find a Grave