Peter Crombie, the actor best known for playing the role of “Crazy” Joe Davola on five episodes of the hit television sitcom “Seinfeld,” died on Wednesday. He was 71.
Crombie died in a healthcare facility in Palm Springs, California.
Crombie had been recovering from unspecified surgery, said his ex-wife, Nadine Kijner, who confirmed his death.
Aside from his part in “Seinfeld,” Crombie also had roles in the movies “Seven” (1995), “Rising Sun” (1993), and “Born on the Fourth of July” (1989), among other acting television and movie credits.
Crombie was born on June 26, 1952, and grew up in a neighborhood outside of Chicago.
His father was an art teacher, and his mother taught home economics, Ms. Kijner said. Crombie trained at the Yale School of Drama before moving to New York.
Crombie and Kijner met in Boston in the late 1980s before marrying in 1991. They divorced six years later but remained good friends.
“He was like a rock,” she said. “He was someone you could always call and lean on.”
The comedian Lewis Black commemorated Crombie on social media, calling him a “wonderful actor” and an “immensely talented writer.”
“More importantly he was as sweet as he was intelligent and I am a better person for knowing him,” Mr. Black wrote.
