Murphy Brown’s Pastorelli Found Dead

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Robert Pastorelli -- who found fame as Eldin Bernecky, Candice Bergen’s housepainter and confidant on CBS’ Murphy Brown -- died Monday at the age of 49.

He was discovered in the bathroom of his Hollywood Hills home by his personal assistant. The Los Angeles Country Coroner is investigating the death as an accident, but noted that drug paraphernalia was found at the scene.

After Murphy Brown, Pastorelli starred as a police psychologist in the short-lived ABC drama Cracker in 1997-98. In 2001, he appeared with Glenn Close in the TV remake of South Pacific. One month before his death, he finished work on the film, Be Cool, the sequel to Get Shorty.

In March 1999, his girlfriend, Charemon Jonovich, killed herself in the same home. Jonovich was the mother of his daughter, who is now six years old.

Paige Albiniak
Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.