16 Facts About Robert Pastorelli

Robert Pastorelli was best known as Eldin in Murphy Brown, Johnny C in Eraser, and Hughey in Michael.

Robert Pastorelli was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, the son of Ledo Robert Pastorelli, an insurance salesman and Dorothy, an artist.

Robert Pastorelli's sister, Gwen Pastorelli, is an opera singer and a real estate agent.

Robert Pastorelli spent his childhood years in Edison, New Jersey, graduating from Edison High School in 1972.

Robert Pastorelli initially intended a career as a professional boxer, but had to abandon the sport due to injuries sustained in a near-fatal high-speed car crash at the age of 19.

Robert Pastorelli acquired a narcotic habit in his early twenties prior to his acting career that he overcame, but he would relapse throughout his later life.

Robert Pastorelli entered the acting profession via New York City theater in the late 1970s after studying at the New York Academy of Theatrical Arts and the Actors Studio, financially maintaining himself by working as a bartender and a male exotic dancer.

Robert Pastorelli performed in productions of The Rainmaker, and Death of a Salesman.

In 1982 Robert Pastorelli headed west to Los Angeles seeking opportunities in Hollywood.

Robert Pastorelli's big break in television came with the role of the gruff but lovable house painter Eldin Bernecky on the series Murphy Brown, which was a ratings hit, and he stayed with the show for seven seasons from 1988 to 1994.

Robert Pastorelli was exonerated of responsibility for Charemon Jonovich's death and received public expressions of sympathy within Hollywood and from the Los Angeles media, but his career went into noticeable decline afterwards.

Robert Pastorelli appeared in two more cinema productions in small roles in the early 2000s as well as some minor supporting roles in television productions.

Robert Pastorelli developed a friendship with Glenn Close towards the end of his career, and appeared alongside her in the television films The Ballad of Lucy Whipple, and in South Pacific in 2001.

Robert Pastorelli was found dead at the age of 49 at his home in the Hollywood Hills on March 8,2004, from a narcotics overdose.

The Coroner's Office reported Robert Pastorelli died of a "fatal blood concentration of morphine".

Robert Pastorelli's body was interred in the mausoleum at Saint Catharine's Cemetery in Sea Girt, New Jersey.