David Schramm, Star of ’90s Sitcom ‘Wings,’ Dies at 73

Veteran character actor played the rival airline owner in all 172 episodes of NBC series

david schramm
NBC

David Schramm, a veteran character best known for his work on the ’90s NBC sitcom “Wings,” died Saturday at age 73.

His death was announced Sunday by Margot Harley, co-founder of the New York-based theater troupe the Acting Company, of which Schramm was a founding member. The cause of death was not disclosed.

Schramm, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, came to New York City as a member of the first graduating class of Juilliard School. He appeared in dozens of theater productions on and off Broadway, including a 2009-10 Broadway revival of the musical “Finian’s Rainbow.”

But he is best known for his supporting role on all eight seasons of “Wings,” as Roy Biggins, the owner of a rival Nantucket-based airline competing with an outfit run by brothers played by Tim Daly and Steven Weber. He appeared in all 172 episodes between 1990 and 1997.

Additional credits include roles on “Jake and the Fatman,” “The Equalizer,” “Miami Vice” and “Spenser: For Hire.” He also starred in the PBS productions “The Time of Your Life” (1976) and the musical “Cradle Will Rock” (1999).

“We mourn his loss and will miss him,” Harley said in a statement.

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