Eddie Mekka, ‘Laverne & Shirley’ Actor, Dies at 69

Eddie Mekka, who played Carmine "The Big Ragoo" Ragusa on "Laverne & Shirley," died on Saturday, Nov. 27 at his home in Newhall, Calif. He was 69 years old at the time.

On Thursday morning, Mekka's official Facebook account shared the news. He "went away quietly," according to the obituary, although no cause of death was mentioned.

On "Laverne & Shirley," Ragusa was the on-again, off-again boyfriend of Cindy Williams' Shirley Feeney. On the show, he was known as "The Big Ragoo," a part-time fighter who also operated a dance studio and aspired to be a dancer and vocalist. In the climax, Johnny fulfils a longstanding ambition by auditioning for "Hair" on Broadway.

From 1976 through 1983, Mekka featured in 150 episodes of the popular ABC comedy. From 1977 to 1979, "Laverne & Shirley" was the most-watched show on television, with a peak of 23 million homes in the United States.

He was born on June 14, 1952, in Worcester, Massachusetts, and worked at the Worcester County Light Opera as well as teaching singing classes. He received a Tony nomination for his major performance in Broadway's "The Lieutenant" in 1975, before going to Los Angeles. His first notable part was in "Laverne & Shirley," and he later appeared in "Blansky's Beauties." Garry Marshall devised both series as spinoffs of "Happy Days," in which Mekka played Ragusa twice.

From the 1970s through the 2010s, Mekka continued to work regularly. Some of his other credits included “The Love Boat,” “Fantasy Island,” “Family Matters,” “Guiding Light,” “24,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody,” and two “Laverne & Shirley” TV specials.