Topic: Robert Pastorelli

Robert Joseph Pastorelli (June 21, 1954 – March 8, 2004) was an American actor. He had many roles on TV, in movies, and on the stage, including the seven years he played the portly painter Eldin Bernecky on the television series Murphy Brown. His last role was as an oddball hit man in Be Cool, reuniting him with Michael star John Travolta. Pastorelli died of a heroin overdose in 2004.

Pastorelli was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, the son of Dotty, an artist, and Ledo Pastorelli, an insurance salesman. Pastorelli was of Italian descent. His sister, Gwen Pastorelli, is an opera singer and a real estate agent. He was a 1972 graduate of Edison High School in Edison, New Jersey. A near-fatal car crash on his 19th birthday cost him his dream of boxing professionally.

Pastorelli was found dead in his home at Hollywood Hills in 2004; a syringe, a spoon and a plastic bag with white powder were discovered near his body. The Coroner's Office later reported that Pastorelli died of "acute cocaine-morphine (heroin) toxicity".