Reception
Since 1983, Nicholas Colasanto was Emmy-nominated three times as an Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his role of Coach, including his posthumous award nomination in 1985, but he did not win. On April 19, 1985, Colasanto was awarded posthumously the Best Supporting Actor by Viewers for Quality Television, a defunct non-profit organization that determined what was considered high-quality on television, for this role. Michael Hill from The Baltimore Evening Sun called Coach "the brilliant character". Robert Bianco praised Coach as the "heart" of the show, an ensemble's father figure, and Diane Chambers' "dependable ally". Bianco praised Coach for giving heart to the "Sam and Diane" story and for making the show a "classic". He was devastated that the actor and the character himself died, and he was disappointed that the show was not as great without him. Even with Coach's replacement Woody Boyd, Bianco considered Coach irreplaceable.
Ted Danson, a portrayer of Sam Malone, considered Colasanto the "heart and soul" of the show and felt that the show lost its "heart and soul" since his death. Bill Simmons, previous writer of ESPN, praised Coach for making the show a "show", yet he felt that his death transformed the show into a "sitcom". A writer under a pseudonymous name, Joe Sixpack, from Philadelphia Daily News, named Coach his second most-favorite "complete professional" bartender with a warm heart to customers, despite his limited range of intelligence. A columnist Amber Lee from the Bleacher Report website called Coach one of "25 funniest coaches of film and television".
Jeffrey Robinson of the DVD Talk website praised Colasanto's performance for executing many dimensions to his character Coach, as opposed to his replacement Woody Boyd, whom he found one-dimensional and clueless. Adam Arseneau disdained the show for improperly honoring the memory of Colasanto by poorly handling his character Coach's disappearance in the third season and death in the fourth.
Read more about this topic: Coach Ernie Pantusso
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