The death of soap actor Joe Marinelli, 68, was announced on June 24. Marinelli played Mafioso/cross-dresser Bunny Tagliatti on Santa Barbara from 1988-90, Pauly Hardman on Guiding Light in 1993, and Joseph Sorel on General Hospital from 1999-2001. Marinelli worked as a carpenter while working in small parts in movies and TV. His first big break was in L.A. Law, and from then on he was seen in small or supporting roles in House, Desperate Housewives, The West Wing, Sideways, Ray Donovan, and, most recently, he played the director in The Morning Show. Of his sympathetic but wildly inaccurate character Bunny, he said, “I research every time, no matter how big or small the character. There wasn't much written on it (no internet then), but one book was riveting. It discussed that most transvestites are heterosexual, and need ‘gender relief.’ Homosexuals tend to move towards a sex change if they are inclined to feel like they are the opposite sex. The book told stories that horrified me, because people were so trapped, so imprisoned by societies view of their instincts. People that committed suicide, or were on the threshold. People that believed they were the only ones that felt as they did, because nothing was written on the subject. While I knew that Bunny was a comical element of the show, I never wanted to poke fun at transvestites. I believe really good acting always reveals the intimacy of the human.” No, no, and no, but you gotta give him credit for trying.
