Walter Olkewicz, the actor best known as sleazy bartender Jacques Renault in “Twin Peaks,” oil refinery worker Dougie Boudreau in TV’s “Grace Under Fire” and the cable guy who infuriated Kramer in “Seinfeld,” has died. He was 72.
Olkewicz died Tuesday in his Los Angeles-area home following a prolonged illness, according to his screenwriter son, Zak Olkewicz.
“He was a good man who pushed his love for creativity and the arts into everything he did,” Zak Olkewicz told USA TODAY of his father. “He handed that passion down to me, and I look forward to passing it on to the grandchildren he loved so much.”
Olkewicz was a distinctive and familiar figure on TV and in movies for decades, appearing alongside Tony Danza throughout five seasons of “Who’s the Boss?” as Tiny McGee from 1987 and, during the same timespan, as characters including Walter Plimp in “Night Court.”
In fan-favorite 1996 “Seinfeld” episode “Cadillac,” Olkewicz played Nick, the Plaza Cable worker who antagonizes Kramer. The intense feud ended in a cable guy/Kramer embrace.
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Born on May 14, 1948, in Bayonne, New Jersey, Olkewicz graduated from Bayonne High School in 1966 and Colorado State University, before making his onscreen debut in 1976’s “Futureworld.”
On the big screen, Olkewicz portrayed Private Hinshaw in an all-star cast including John…
