by Liam Stack

Robert Loggia, an Oscar-nominated actor who had a durable career in television and movies, notably in Brian De Palma's gangster film "Scarface" and Penny Marshall's comedy "Big," died on Friday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 85. His wife, Audrey Loggia, said the cause was complications of Alzheimer's disease. "He struggled with Alzheimer's disease for five years," she said. "It just took its natural progression."

Mr. Loggia's career began on the New York stage in the 1950s and soon moved into film and television in its early years. His rugged looks and gravelly voice made him a natural for playing characters with a hard edge, like a drug lord in "Scarface" (1983), a Sicilian mobster in "Prizzi's Honor" (1985) and a private detective in "Jagged Edge" (1985), a role that got him an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor. (Don Ameche won that year, for "Cocoon.")

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Source: http://www.nytimes.com/