Posted on 12/02/2021 8:06:38 AM PST by massmike
Eddie Mekka, the Tony-nominated actor best known for his role as Carmine “The Big Ragu” Ragusa of “Laverne & Shirley,” has died. He was 69.
The veteran TV and stage actor reportedly passed away on Nov. 27 at his home in Newhall, California, according to friend and fellow Berklee College of Music alum, Pat Benti, who did not share a cause of death in his tribute on Facebook.
Asking that all inquiries into Mekka’s death “be withheld during his family’s time of grief,” Benti also said, “We welcome you to share your memories of Eddie and your condolences to his family on his fan page.”
Mekka played Shirley Feeney’s crooner boyfriend, Carmine, on the “Happy Days” spinoff starring Penny Marshall as Laverne and Cindy Williams as Shirley. The series aired between 1976 and 1983 on ABC, and later in syndication. His character was known to break out into song, often belting out the Tony Bennett-inspired catchphrase, “You know I’d go from rags to riches!”
"Laverne & Shirley” co-star Marshall died in 2018, and David L. Lander, who played Andrew “Squiggy” Squiggman in the show, passed away last year. Comedian Michael McKean (Lenny Kosnowski) and Williams are now the only surviving stars from the beloved series.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
RIP Big Ravi.
Eddie's brother, Warren Mekjian, tells TMZ ... Eddie was found dead at his home in Newhall, CA on Saturday. We're told friends and neighbors became concerned when they hadn't heard from him in a few days and called cops to go over and check on him.Warren tells us Eddie had recently been hospitalized for blood clots and could barely walk ... there's no indication his death was suspicious or that there was any foul play involved.
Was a COVID booster in Eddie's recent past?
Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Hasenpfeffer Incorporated!
I wonder what from. Maybe the Fauci clot shot. Laverne and Squiggy died as well. Squiggy died from MS.
Until proven otherwise, I suspect the culprit is a bolus of you-know-what right up the ravioli. Thank you media for planting this in my mind with your incessant chatter about COVID.
Clot shots are foul play.
Holy smoke! Read my post #5, I didn’t read your post before I wrote mine. This has become so common now which tells me those vaccines have been tampered with. We never had this crap going on with the vaccines when Trump was in office, now every day I’m reading about people dying from it.
That’s my guess.....
It was pretty amazing all the spin-offs from Happy Days, this show, Joni Loves Chachi
Well, two out of three ain’t bad.......................
Mork and Mindy.
He could have gone from rags to riches...
I remember watching the Laverne & Shirley show as a kid but I don’t remember this guy. Lenny and Squiggly I remember. Didn’t they go on to form a band called Sha-Na-Na?
I forgot about that one
You win the thread.
Shlameel, Shlafazel...
Wasn’t the Big Ragu also in “A League of their Own” for a cameo dance roll?
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