Richard Roat, prolific Friends and Seinfeld actor, dies at 89

Richard Roat, a character actor with a prolific career in entertainment spanning almost 50 years, has died. He was 89.

The veteran actor — who appeared in more than 135 roles on television, in film, and on Broadway — died in Orange County, Calif., on Aug. 5, reports the Los Angeles Times. No cause of death was provided.

Roat got his start in the 1960s on the sitcom Car 54, Where Are You? and played spotlight roles on numerous hit television series throughout the past five decades, including Columbo, Dallas, Charlie's Angels, Dynasty and Hill Street Blues.

Fred Sabine /American Broadcasting Companies via Getty Images Richard Roat

In the '90s, Roat garnered attention for his Seinfeld performance as Dr. Berg, a physician who finds Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) to be a difficult patient. He also starred on Friends as Burt, a fellow paleontologist who tries to get Ross (David Schwimmer) in trouble for dating a student, and on The Golden Girls as Al Beatty, Rose's (Betty White) boyfriend who comically dies after spending the night with her.

Roat's final turn was as Robert in the Fox crime drama 24 in 2009. Off screen, the actor performed on Broadway and was also a successful entertainment tax preparer for more than 50 years.

In his spare time, Roat was a whiskey connoisseur and an avid supporter of the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Angels. His obituary in the Los Angeles Times notes that he "would have been ecstatic that the Angels won on the Friday night he passed."

"Richard will be missed by family, friends, colleagues, and clients," the obituary concluded. "He will be thought of often, with warm memories and a quiet chuckle for all the good times he brought to our lives."

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