David Margulies, character actor and mayor in ‘Ghostbusters,’ dies at 78

David Margulies, a character actor who starred as New York City’s mayor in the original Ghostbusters films, has died. He was 78.

Margulies’ agent, Mary Harden, confirmed the news to Deadline. The site notes that his last role will be playing Elie Wiesel in ABC’s Madoff with Richard Dreyfuss.

His long career goes back to 1972 and he had his first major role in 1976’s The Front with Woody Allen. He went on to have roles in Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz, Brian De Palma’s Dressed To Kill, Nine 1/2 Weeks, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and All Good Things. He played various roles on Law & Order and starred as Tony Soprano’s lawyer on The Sopranos.

However, his most famous role was as Mayor Lenny Clotch in Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II.

Margulies, who was born in Brooklyn and graduated from the City College of New York, was also a longtime stage actor. He started on the stage in the 1950s and scored his Broadway debut in 1973’s The Iceman Cometh. He made his last appearance on the stage in 2013 with an off-off-Broadway production called The Hatmaker’s Wife.

People notes that he also appears in an upcoming film called License Plates.