The US actor Joe E. Tata, best known from the nineties cult series "Beverly Hills, 90210", is dead. The 85-year-old died in a nursing home in Southern California, said his court-appointed lawyer of the "Los Angeles Times” on Thursday (local time).
Tata had been ill for a long time, and recently he had gotten worse.
His daughter Kelly, who called for donations for her father via an Internet platform, wrote that he fell asleep peacefully on August 24.
In 2018 he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
Tata played Nat Bussichio, a restaurant owner known for his good advice, whose restaurant Peach Pit was a popular school hangout in the Beverly Hills, California, youngsters' series.
He was also seen in other series, such as "Detective Rockford - Just Call" with James Garner.
"He was one of the happiest people I've ever worked with.
He was as generous with his wisdom as he was with his kindness," wrote Beverly Hills, 90210 co-star Ian Ziering, who portrayed Steve Sanders on the series, on Instagram.
Jason Priestley, who played the character Brandon Walsh, also took to Instagram to express his grief.
Tata was not only an important part of the series, but also of his life.
Tata's daughter Kelly wrote that she moved in with her father in 2014 to take care of him.
Shortly after the actor's Alzheimer's diagnosis, she too became ill and had to be treated in a hospital.
During her recovery, her father was tricked into accepting guardianship and she had to move out of the apartment they shared.
The donations collected are now to go to an Alzheimer's foundation - they were originally intended to enable her to move close to her father or to buy a car so that she can visit him more often.