John Paul Pinette

 John Paul Pinette (March 23, 1964 – April 5, 2014)

Pinette was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and Broadway performer. He toured the comedy club circuit beginning in the 1980's and appeared in cinema and on television. Besides stand-up, Pinette did impressions of Michael Jackson, The Chipmunks, Elvis Presley, Gollum from The Lord of the Rings, Hervé Villechaize (Tattoo from Fantasy Island), an Ewok, actor Marlon Brando (notably Brando's role in The Godfather), as well as various ethnic accents. He occasionally sang, for example "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz, "Will You Be There" from Free Willy, and "Don't Cry for Me Argentina," in his stand-up routines. Pinette appeared in the films Duets, Simon Sez, The Last Godfather, Dear God, and Junior. In 2004, Pinette played Bumpo in Artisan Entertainment's The Punisher, starring Thomas Jane and John Travolta. In 1991, he was a regular cast member on the reality show The Grudge Match as the referee on the series. He was a regular on the series Parker Lewis Can't Lose and, in 1998, played the carjacking victim in the final episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. In 2012, Pinette was one of the comedy acts in Ron White's Comedy Salute to the Troops on CMT.

Pinette died on April 5, 2014 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the age of 50. Pinette's personal doctor signed off on his cause of death as pulmonary embolism. He is buried at Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery in Springfield, Pennsylvania.