Veteran soap opera actor Joe Marinelli has died.
He was 68 years old.
Marinelli’s agent, Julie Smith, confirmed his death, Entertainment Weekly reported.
His wife, Jean, said he died on June 22 at his home in Burbank after a battle with stomach cancer, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He also had throat cancer, CNN reported, but no details about the cause of death were provided.
Marinelli was known for his roles on several soap operas, including “General Hospital” and “Guiding Light.” He, as Entertainment Weekly described, “memorably portrayed cross-dressing gangster Bunny Tagliatti” on “Santa Barbara” from 1988 to 1990.
He spoke about the role, which he said allowed him to combine different aspects of himself into one part.
“Bunny allowed me to bring so many things: my sense of humor, my love of creating different characters — in this case male and female — and a strong moral code,” he said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “I, like a lot of people, can get my feelings hurt, and when Bunny got hurt, he would turn to his female ego.”
Marinelli won a Soap Opera Digest Award for the role, CNN reported.
He also appeared on several series in guest spots, including “Hill Street Blues,” “ER,” “The King of Queens” and “The West Wing” among his dozens of credits.
Marinelli’s final role was that of director Donny Spagnoli for 22 episodes of “The Morning Show” starring Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, according to his IMDB profile.
Marinelli was born in 1957 in Connecticut before he and his family moved to California in 1961. He then moved to Reno, Nevada, where he attended high school and Loyola Marymount University before attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London.
He was a carpenter while performing in local theater in Los Angeles until he got his big break first with shows like “Cagney & Lacey,” then eventually “Santa Barbara”, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Marinelli left behind his wife and two sons.
© 2025 Cox Media Group
