Jimmy Kimmel’s ‘Uncle Frank’ Potenza Dies

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Uncle Frank has left the building.

Frank Potenza, a retired cop and security guard who found late-life fame on his nephew Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night TV show, has died at 77, according to ABC.

‘Uncle Frank’ was among the first regular characters introduced on ABC’s ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ in 2003. Kimmel asked Potenza, a former security guard at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, to move to Los Angeles to take part in the show.

Potenza was frequently used in comedy bits or reaction shots, often to provide a dose of common sense or merely a puzzled shrug to the proceedings.

‘His kindness and humor will be missed by everyone he touched,’ the show said in a statement Tuesday.

ABC did not provide a cause of death or specify when Potenza died. He is survived by three daughters and a newborn granddaughter.

ALSO:

David Letterman jokes about death threats

Tough talk on ‘Real Housewives of New Jersey’

Jerry Lewis and MDA telethon: Together again?

-- Scott Collins (twitter.com/scottcollinsLAT)