Eddie Driscoll death: Mad Men actor dies aged 60 after cancer battle

Eddie Driscoll, the character actor known for his appearances in Mad Men, Entourage, Sex and the City and This Is Us, has died. He was 60.

Driscoll died on 15 December in Los Angeles from a saddle pulmonary embolism after fighting stomach cancer for several months. His death was confirmed by friend and fellow actor Jimmy Palumbo on his podcast The Jimmy Palumbo Show on Tuesday (27 February).

Born in New York on 26 September 1963, Edward Driscoll attended Lenape Valley Regional High School in Stanhope, New Jersey. He graduated in 1981.

He went on to study acting at the University of Miami and took part in an apprenticeship program at the Burt Reynolds Institute for Film & Theatre in North Palm Beach, Florida. While at the Institute he studied under acting heavyweights including Charles Nelson Reilly, Carol Burnett, Dom DeLuise and Reynolds himself.

Reynolds was so impressed with Driscoll that he helped him land his first film role in Michael Crichton’s crime thriller Physical Evidence (1989), which starred Reynolds, Theresa Russell and Ned Beatty.

Driscoll appeared in several further productions alongside Reynolds, including crime comedy Breaking In (1989) and the television shows B.L. Stryker (1990) and Evening Shade (1990-93).

On television, he was known for small roles on Sex and the City (playing “Fendi Man”), Mad Men (as Meehan), as a detective in Entourage and a secret service agent in 24.

Driscoll also had a recurring role as East Coast leader Randall Croft on the TNT sci-fi series The Last Ship (2016), and on stage he portrayed the loan shark Angelo “Gyp” DeCarlo in a West Coast touring production of Jersey Boys.

Driscoll could also be seen on a wide range of television shows including Days of Our Lives, Tracey Takes On …, The King of Queens, Cold Case, Heroes, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, Medium, Heroes and Desperate Housewives. His film credits include Lansky (1999), Boat Trip (2002), Pavement (2002), Cellular (2004) and Blast (2004).

Off-screen, Driscoll was a regular host at the now-closed Dimples karaoke bar in Burbank for over 20 years.

On Instagram, the former staff of Dimples paid tribute to Driscoll, writing: “He was the funniest and most talented person that ever worked at Dimples, despite getting fired 9 times (How dare you! - he would had said and then corrected me to tell me it was more times than 9).

“He never turned down an opportunity to dress funny and always controversial. He had the best costumes. He will be greatly missed by so many people especially our Dimples family.”

He is survived by friends and family including his brother, Danny.