Born in New York City. Chubby, balding character player of the American stage, TV and films. Made his stage debut as a child but worked as a toy salesman, night clerk, waiter and dishwasher, among other occupations, before making his first New York appearance as an adult in 1957. He subsequently played supporting roles in many stage productions, on Broadway, off Broadway, and on the road, winning the first of two Obie® Awards for The Moon in the Yellow River in 1959. He achieved breakthrough success as the tragicomic lead in Neil Simon's Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1969), a role especially tailored for him by the playwright. In films since 1964, mainly in comic support roles, he was playing character leads by the early 70s. He starred in the TV series "Calucci's Department" and "The Dumplings" and won an Emmy® in 1983 for an appearance in the TV series "St. Elsewhere." Other notable screen credits include ENSIGN PULVER (1964), THE STRAWBERRY STATEMENT and TELL ME THAT YOU LOVE ME, JUNIE MOON (both 1970), A NEW LEAF and SUCH GOOD FRIENDS (both 1971), MAN OF LA MANCHA (1973, as Sancho Panza), THE WILD PARTY (1975), MURDER BY DEATH (1976), CHARLESTON (1977), THE CHEAP DETECTIVE (1978), SCAVENGER HUNT (1979), WHOLLY MOSES (1980), THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN (1984), THE CHAIR (1989) and his last film, THAT'S ADEQUATE, released in 1990. Waging a life-long battle with obesity, Coco gained, lost, and regained hundreds of pounds during his career. In 1984, he wrote The James Coco Diet Book. He completed another book, Cooking with Coco, just before his death at 56 of a heart attack.  Nominated for Supporting Actor 1981: ONLY WHEN I LAUGH 1 nomination