John Aprea, an actor who has a wide variety of roles to his name, has passed away at 83. His death was confirmed by his manager, Will Levine. Aprea was born in 1941, to a family that immigrated from Italy. Aprea jumped around a number of professions through his early years, but only landed on acting later on, even after some time in college.
His first film credit is Bullitt, directed by Peter Yates. Immediately following that, he appeared in an episode of That Girl, establishing a career that saw him work both on the big screen, and on television screens. As his career went on, he appeared in several big movies, including The Manchurian Candidate, New Jack City, and, most notably, The Godfather Part II.
Aprea’s wide array of television credits include an appearance on The A-Team, The Fall Guy, Night Court, Knots Landing, and many others. One of his most notable TV roles, however, is that of recurring character Nick Katsopilis in Full House, the father to John Stamos’ Jesse Katsopilis, and grandfather to the Tanner children.
As Deadline reports, Paul Carafotes, one of Aprea’s castmates on Knots Landing, spoke about his death, mentioning the laughs they shared on set of the show. “Many will miss this man! Rest old friend. I’ll see you on the other side,” he said.
Deadline also noted that his death came of natural causes, and he died in the presence of his family.