Roger Perry of 'The Facts of Life' Dead at 85

Roger Perry, a veteran TV actor discovered by Lucille Ball, died Thursday at home of prostate cancer, THR reports. He was 85.

Perry's career on TV began in 1959. He went on to star as a regular on the series "Harrigan and Son" (1960-1961), "Arrest and Trial" (1963-1964), and "The Facts of Life" (1981-1983), and was a prominent recurring character on "Falcon Crest" (1982-1985).

Among Perry's many episodic guest appearances, he appeared on the memorably twisted "Final Performance" episode of "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" (1965) and on the Season 1 "Star Trek" episode "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" (1967).

He acted less frequently in movies, but his work included the features "Follow the Boys" (1963) and "Heaven with a Gun" (1969), as well as the camp classics "The Thing with Two Heads" (1972) and "Roller Boogie" (1979).

Also a talented songwriter, his "A Kid Again" was sung by Barbra Streisand on her iconic 1965 TV special "My Name Is Barbra."

Perry was married for many years to comic actress Jo Anne Worley, and was married to TV actress Joyce Bulifant from 2002 until his death. He was one of the titular grooms referenced by Bulifant's cheeky memoir, "My Four Hollywood Husbands," the others being actors James MacArthur and Edward Mallory and director-writer-producer William Asher.