Playing “Crazy” Joe Davola on “Seinfeld,” Peter Crombie passed away on Wednesday at the age of 71 due to an intestinal illness.
“It is with shock and extreme sadness that I share my Ex-husband died this morning,” said Crombie’s ex-wife Nadine Kijner on Instagram, following the actor’s death. I’m grateful to you for being such a decent man and for all of the amazing memories. Peter, feel free to soar into the limitless reservoir of light.
NBC News Receives Statement on the Abrupt Passing of Peter Kijner
Kijner additionally sent NBC News a statement regarding her abruptly deceased ex-husband:
“Primary qualities of Peter included his compassionate soul, true gentlemanly demeanor, intelligence, and personal rock status among those he knew. He was also steady, constant, and dependable. He was an accomplished writer, an actor with training from Yale, and a genuine artist, according to Kijner.
“When not performing on stage or in front of the camera, he was a very humble person who preferred others to speak and take center stage. He was always kind, generous, and hilarious. He was one of the most gentle, understanding, caring, and loving people I have ever known. a kind giant.”
John Crombie’s Memorable Role as Davola in Seinfeld Season 4
In “Seinfeld” season 4, Crombie made recurrent appearances as Davola, a nemesis to Jerry and Elaine and one of the show’s many breakout characters. Crombie initially appears as Davola in the episode “The Pitch,” where Jerry and George pitch their sitcom idea to NBC. By happenstance, Davola, a writer, runs across the two in the waiting area.
Davola proceeds to date Elaine for a short while until she finds out he has been photographing her and pinning the images up in his apartment. In the episode “The Opera,” Kramer, Jerry, and Elaine are attending the opera “Pagliacci,” and Davola is dressing up as a clown to mistreat them.
In the season 4 finale, “The Pilot,” which Crombie attempted to attack because he believed Jerry had placed the “kibosh” on his contract with NBC, Crombie made his last appearance as Davola. During his career, Crombie has starred in several other television programs and motion pictures, such as “Natural Born Killers” and “Law & Order.”