Joe Marinelli, the veteran character actor who amused and attracted admirers as the cross-dressing mobster Bunny Tagliatti on the NBC soap opera Santa Barbara, has died. He was 68.
Marinelli died Sunday in Burbank after a battle with stomach cancer, his wife of nearly 34 years, musician Jean Marinelli, told The Hollywood Reporter. She said they never had a fight.
After playing Bernardo “Bunny” Tagliatti from 1988-90, Marinelli portrayed bank robber Pauly Hardman on the CBS daytime drama Guiding Light in 1993 and another crook, Joseph Sorel, on the ABC soap General Hospital from 1999-2001.
More recently, he recurred as Uba director Donny Spagnoli on the first three seasons of the Apple TV+ drama The Morning Show.
“I really loved him and what he stood for,” Mark Duplass, who plays Tms executive producer Chip Black on the show, said in a statement. “We didn’t spend 10,000 hours together, but we were spiritually aligned in many ways.
Marinelli died Sunday in Burbank after a battle with stomach cancer, his wife of nearly 34 years, musician Jean Marinelli, told The Hollywood Reporter. She said they never had a fight.
After playing Bernardo “Bunny” Tagliatti from 1988-90, Marinelli portrayed bank robber Pauly Hardman on the CBS daytime drama Guiding Light in 1993 and another crook, Joseph Sorel, on the ABC soap General Hospital from 1999-2001.
More recently, he recurred as Uba director Donny Spagnoli on the first three seasons of the Apple TV+ drama The Morning Show.
“I really loved him and what he stood for,” Mark Duplass, who plays Tms executive producer Chip Black on the show, said in a statement. “We didn’t spend 10,000 hours together, but we were spiritually aligned in many ways.
- 6/24/2025
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.