David Margulies, 'Ghostbusters' Mayor, Dead at 78: Reports

Brooklyn-born film and stage actor David Margulies has passed away at the age of 78, according to Broadway World, theater reporter Frank Rizzo and friends of the actor who posted about his death online.

Margulies employed his classic Brooklyn accent in a bevy of classic films and TV shows about New York, including “Ghostbusters,” in which he played the NYC mayor, and ”The Sopranos,” in which he played Tony Soprano’s lawyer, Neil Mink.

“I’ve been fortunate to have worked a lot,” Margulies told Rizzo in a 2011 interview. “But for me now, the most important thing is playing marvelous parts.”

Below, some highlights from Margulies’ film career, via one of his demo reels.

“I saw David Margulies in a classy play and yet he had ’The Mayor of New York City in Ghostbusters’ prominently in his bio,” the NYC-based writer and performer David Lawson wrote on Twitter. “Loved that. RIP.”

Here’s a rundown of Margulies’ long and rich career in theater, courtesy of Theater Mania:

He made his Broadway debut as Hugo Kalmar in Theodore Mann’s 1973 Circle in the Square revival of Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh, which was followed by roles in Comedians, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Conversations With My Father, Angels in America (as Roy Cohn), A Thousand Clowns, 45 Seconds From Broadway, and Wonderful Town.

His plethora of off-Broadway credits included Martin Crimp’s The Treatment at the Public Theater, All That I Would Ever Be at New York Theatre Workshop, and The Accomplices at the Acorn Theatre. For the latter two shows, he received the 2007 Richard Seff Award for his performances. His most recent credits include the 2009 Primary Stages production of Chasing Manet, Amy Herzog’s After the Revolution in 2010 at Playwrights Horizons, Tony Kushner’s adaptation of Pierre Corneille’s The Illusion at Signature Theatre Company in 2001, and 2013 Playwrights Realm production of Lauren Yee’s The Hatmaker’s Wife, his final stage appearance.

Margulies reportedly passed away on Monday, Jan. 11. Upon learning of his death Tuesday, his wide array of friends and admirers remembered him as a tremendous actor — and an even better man — in tributes posted online.