Beverly Hills, 90210 actor Joe E. Tata has passed away at the age of 85. Tata was born on September 13, 1936 and began his acting career in 1964, appearing on two episodes of the Andy Griffith Show spin-off Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. He went on to make appearances on many major series including Hogan's Heroes, Lost in Space, The Rockford Files, Wonder Woman, Batman, and The A-Team. However, the actor is by far best known for playing Nat Bussichio on Beverly Hills, 90210. Nat was the owner of The Peach Pit, a diner where the 90210 gang would eventually hang out on a regular basis after Jason Priestley's character Brandon Walsh got a job there in season 1.
Although Beverly Hills, 90210, which ran for ten seasons from 1990 to 2000, was one of the last credits he ever held, it was also the longest-running of his career. He made his debut as Nat in season 1, episode 3, "Every Dream Has Its Price (Tag)," and went on to appear in 238 total episodes of the series, even more than some of the series' most prominent stars, including Shannen Doherty (who played co-lead Brenda Walsh on 111 episodes before leaving the series after season 4), Gabrielle Carteris (who played newspaper editor Andrea Zuckerman on 147 episodes), and Luke Perry (who played consummate bad boy Dylan McKay on 199 episodes).
On his official Instagram account, Beverly, Hills 90210 star Ian Ziering announced the death of his co-star Joe E. Tata. He did not specify the cause of death for the actor, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's as of 2018. Ziering shares that Tata was "as generous with his wisdom as he was with his kindness" and honors his contributions to 90210, acknowledging that, even though he wasn't a main cast member on the show, scenes in the Peach Pit "felt like the backdrop to the Joe E Tata show." Check out Ziering's post below:
Tata's death marks the third development in an unfortunate two weeks for the cast and crew of Beverly Hills, 90210. On August 14, Principal Teasley actress Denise Dowse passed away at age 64, followed by the passing of writer Jessica Klein at age 66 later that same day. All three creators are inextricably linked with the popular series, to the point that many of Tata's later career appearances were Nat-related, including a three-episode stint on the reboot series 90210 in 2008, all the way up to his final role, which was in a 2014 episode of Mystery Girls, starring his Beverly Hills, 90210 co-stars Tori Spelling and Jennie Garth.
Tata will be remembered with love by his family, friends, and legions of Beverly Hills, 90210 fans. Although his loss is incalculable, those who knew him assert that his spirit of kindness is reflected in the character of Nat. Thanks to his indefatigable spirit, his essence will live on forever within the iconic Peach Pit every time a fan turns on an episode.
Source: Ian Ziering