According to his widow, Loggia had been battling Alzheimer’s Disease for the past five years. "His poor body gave up," she said. "He loved being an actor and he loved his life.".
They had been married for 33 years. Audrey added that the actor "was an awesome husband and an awesome father."
He was nominated for a supporting actor Academy Award for “Jagged Edge” in 1986 for his portrayal of blunt private detective Sam Ransom. In 1989, he was nominated for an Emmy in 1989 for his portrayal of FBI agent Nick Mancuso in the series “Mancuso FBI” — which has a spin-off of the character he created in the “Favorite Son” miniseries starring Harry Hamlin — and again in 2000 for his guest star role in “Malcolm in the Middle.”
A solidly built man with a rugged face and gravelly voice, Loggia fit neatly into gangster movies, playing a Miami drug lord in "Scarface," which starred Al Pacino; and a Sicilian mobster in "Prizzi's Honor," with Jack Nicholson and Kathleen Turner. He played wise guys in David Lynch's "Lost Highway," the spoofs "Innocent Blood" and "Armed and Dangerous," and again on David Chase's "The Sopranos," as the previously jailed veteran mobster Michele "Feech" La Manna.
Loggia’s TV credits included “The Untouchables,” “Columbo,” “Gunsmoke,” “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,” “The Big Valley,” “Rawhide,” “Little House on the Prairie,” “Starsky and Hutch,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “Magnum, P.I.,” “Kojak,” “Hawaii Five-0,” “The Bionic Woman,” “Frasier” and “Monk.”
Asked in 1990 how he maintained such a varied career, he responded: "I'm a character actor in that I play many different roles, and I'm virtually unrecognizable from one role to another. So I never wear out my welcome."
Loggia is survived by his widow; three children, Tracy, John and Kristina, and a stepchild, Cynthia.
His family has asked that donations be made to the Motion Picture and Television Fund. Loggia was an active supporter of the fund.
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