Frank Pesce, Actor in ‘Top Gun’, ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ and More, Dies at 75

Frank Pesce, a character actor who starred in the first two Beverly Hills Cop movies starring Eddie Murphy, has died. He was 75. Pesce starred in over 80 movies and television shows in a career that began in the late 1970s. He also starred in Top Gun, Midnight Run, Kojak, Matlock, and Miami Vice.

Pesce’s girlfriend, Tammy Scher, told Deadline that the actor died on Feb. 6 in Burbank, California. The cause was complications from dementia. She said his quote “They make movies about guys like me” will be his epitaph. He is survived by Scher, his brother Vito Pese, two nieces, and his sister-in-law. His funeral is set for Feb. 18 in the Bronx.

Pesce was born in New York City on Dec. 8, 1946. He was close friends with Sylvester Stallone, Tony Danza, the late Robert Forster, and many others. His early career included bit parts in Stallone’s Rocky and Paradise Alley. Pesce also had worked with Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer frequently after appearing in Flashdance. He also starred in Simpson and Bruckheimer’s first two Beverly Hills Cop movies and Top Gun.

Pesce’s life was the inspiration for George Gallo’s 1991 movie 29th Street, and he even received a story credit on the movie. Producer David Permut (Hacksaw Ridge, Face/Off) told Deadline the movie was inspired by a time in Pesce’s early life when he bought a winning lottery ticket. Permut sold the story to United Artists, but also discovered that Pesce already sold his life story to Simpson, Bruckheimer, and Paramount!

“I exploded at Frank, he then tried to defend himself saying, ‘Well, there is no guarantee either studio would actually make the film after the scripts were developed, and a least I got two horses in the race, instead of just one,’” Permut recalled. “I was ready to kill him! I called Don Simpson, who fortunately I had a good relationship with, and he actually laughed, and let it go. Thank God, because to this day, I never shared the story with John Goldwyn, who made the development deal with us at UA while he was head of production.”

The film was eventually made at 20th Century Fox with Dan Aiello as Frank Pesce Sr. and Anthony LaPaglia as Frank Pesce Jr. Pesce played his real-life older brother Vito. “To say Frank was one of a kind would be a gross understatement,” Permut told Deadline. “We shared our love and passion for film. He claimed to see more movies than Leonard Maltin and Roger Ebert combined.”