Joe E. Tata Death: “Beverly Hills, 90210” Peach Pit Owner Demise at 85!

By Mohit Kamboj On Aug 30, 2022

During the course of the hit series, which aired on Fox for a total of ten seasons, Mr. Tata played the role of Nat Bussichio, a father figure who offered guidance to the students who frequented his cafe.

Joe E. Tata, a character actor whose roles in a long television career included henchmen on the original “Batman” series and bit parts on “The Rockford Files,” passed away on Thursday in Woodland Hills, California. He was best known as the good-natured owner of the Peach Pit diner on the hit teenage drama “Beverly Hills, 90210,” which aired in the 1990s. He was 85.

His death, which took place at a care home, was verified by his attorney, Richard W. Sharpe, although the cause of death was not specified.

Kelly Tata, Mr. Tata’s daughter, also disclosed the news of her father’s passing in a message that she posted on a GoFundMe page that she had established to assist in covering the costs of his medical care. She mentioned that he was given a diagnosis with Alzheimer’s disease in the year 2018.

Mr. Tata portrayed Nat Bussichio, the welcoming proprietor of the made-up Peach Pit, in a total of 238 episodes of the television show “Beverly Hills, 90210,” which aired from 1990 to 2000. As Nat, he served as a father figure and a model for the characters on the show, which centered on a group of friends attending high school in the affluent 90210 ZIP code.

Although the program started off to a slow start when it first aired on the Fox network in 1990, it went on to become a huge success and a sensation in popular culture. It is famous for intercutting love themes with serious concerns such as racism and teenage pregnancy. Because of the show’s success, its telegenic young cast members became famous, including Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Luke Perry, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Brian Austin Green, and Tori Spelling (whose father, Aaron Spelling, produced the show).

The 13th of September, 1936 finds Joseph Evan Tata being brought into the world in the Bronx. His father was a vaudevillian who performed under the name John Lucas and was also referred to as Rosey the Singing Barber at times.

There was a delay in the availability of full details regarding Mr. Tata’s surviving family members.

In 1960, Mr. Tata appeared in an episode of the police procedural series “Peter Gunn,” which was his first role in television. He went on to have a successful career as a character actor, appearing in small roles on dozens of different shows over the course of his career.

His forte was science fiction, as evidenced by the fact that he lent his voice to a number of robots on “Lost in Space” and appeared as an extraterrestrial on “The Outer Limits.” In addition, he appeared as multiple villains on the 1960s television series “Batman,” which starred Adam West.

In the 1960s and 1970s, he was a well-known face on a variety of police and detective shows, such as “Police Story” and “The Rockford Files.” Additionally, he had roles on three distinct episodes of “Mission: Impossible” as three different characters.

But the part that Mr. Tata is best known for is the one he played on “Beverly Hills, 90120.” It was frequently shown that the students of West Beverly High School would congregate at the Peach Pit after school, where Mr. Tata’s Nat would listen to the difficulties that the students were having and give them advice.

Although Mr. Tata “may have been in the back of many scenes,” Mr. Ziering added that he was “a leading force, especially to us guys, on how to appreciate the gift that 90210 was.” Mr. Ziering made these comments in a post that he published on Instagram on Thursday.

After nearly 300 episodes, the series was canceled in the year 2000. It resulted in the creation of the spinoff show “Melrose Place” as well as the revival of “90210” in 2008, in which Mr. Tata played the same character.

His most recent acting credit dates back to 2014 when he appeared in the ABC Family comedy series “Mystery Girls” as a high school administrator alongside Ms. Garth and Ms. Spelling.