Actor Val Bisoglio, who guest starred in three episodes of M*A*S*H, died earlier this month (October 18th) at the age of 95. Bisoglio first appeared in the Season 9 episode “The Life You Save,” credited simply as The Cook.
He later returned in the Season 10 episodes “‘Twas the Day After Christmas” and “A Holy Mess.” He was was credited as Sgt. Pernelli in the former and Sal in the latter.
Bisoglio got his start in show biz in the 1960s with guest appearances on TV shows like Hawk and Bonanza. He played Captain Rocco Calvelli in the short-lived CBS World War II sitcom Roll Out, created by Larry Gelbart and Gene Reynolds. It aired for just 12 episodes during the 1973-1974 season. Between 1976 and 1983, Bisoglio had a recurring role on Quincy, M.E.
On the big screen, Bisoglio appeared in movies like The Hindenberg, Saturday Night Fever, and The Frisco Kid. His last acting roles came in 2002 when he guest-starred in three episodes of HBO’s The Sopranos.
An obituary can be found at Variety.
I enjoyed his brief, but memorable, appearances on M*A*S*H. RIP.
Interesting to learn on IMDB that he had stopped his Hollywood career 20 years ago. And, interesting to learn here that he had only been in just 3 episodes of “M*A*S*H”, since it seemed like more. I guess that says something about the presence he brought to that role. I mostly remember him for his appearances on “Quincy” (nearly every episode), which made Bisoglio one of 2 of the main cast members from that series to guest star on “M*A*S*H” (joining Robert Ito — who, as I just discovered while looking at IMDB – is somehow 90 years old now!).