Man In The Family: Ray Sharkey, Anne De Salvo, and Julie Bovasso

Man In The Family ran from June until July 1991 on ABC.

A ne're-do-well son reluctantly returned home to fulfill his father's dying wish and run the family's Brooklyn grocery store in this ethnic comedy. Sal ( Ray Sharkey) wanted nothing in life but fast-buck schemes and womanizing, but now found that he had to deal with family: sarcastic mom Angie ( Julie Bovasso), rebellious teenage sister Tina ( Leah Remini), cranky Uncle Benny ( Louis Guss), skeptical divorced sister Annie ( Anne De Salvo), and Annie's young son Robby( Billy L. Sullivan), who unfortunately idolized sleazy Uncle Sal. At least Sal could promote a scam now and then with his pal Cha Cha( Don Stark)-or try to, until the women hauled him in.

Here is Ray Sharkey's Obituary from The New York Times

Ray Sharkey, 40; Actor Often Played Role of Tough Guy

By THOMAS J. LUECK
Published: June 13, 1993

Ray Sharkey, a television and film actor whose portrayals of rough-hewn and emotionally vulnerable tough guys won wide acclaim, but whose personal life descended into a nightmare of drug and alcohol abuse, died on Friday at Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn. He was 40 years old.

He died of AIDS, according to Herb Nanas, his manager since 1975.

Mr. Nanas said he believed Mr. Sharkey contracted the AIDS from a contaminated needle during a five years of heroin addiction in the mid-1980's.

Mr. Sharkey's biggest film achievement came in 1980, shortly after his arrival in Southern California from New York City, when he was cast as a rock music promoter -- a character drawn from the life of a producer, Bob Marcucci -- in "The Idolmaker." His performance won him a Golden Globe award.

But he may be best remembered for his 1987 performances in "Wiseguy," a crime series in which he played the role of Sonny Steelgrave, an Atlantic City mob boss. So popular was his character that fans of the program formed what they called the "Sonny Steelgrave Memorial Society" after the character was killed off.

"He played a Godfather, a killer, and actually got America to love him," said Mr. Nanas, in an interview yesterday from his home in Los Angeles, where Mr. Sharkey had lived for 13 years.

Mr. Sharkey was born in 1953 in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn. In interviews, he described a turbulent childhood and said his inspiration to become an actor came from Jack Lemmon's portrayal of an alcoholic in "Days of Wine and Roses."

Mr. Sharkey appeared in several films in the 1980s, including "Trackdown" and "Who'll Stop the Rain." "Scenes from a Class Struggle in Beverly Hills," and "Wired."

He married Carol Goodman of Los Angeles in 1988. The marriage ended in divorce in September.

He is survived by a Cecilia Sharkey of Los Angeles, and his mother, Cecilia Sharkey of Brooklyn.

For a biography of Ray Sharkey go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Sharkey