Chick Vennera, ‘Golden Girls’ and ‘Thank God It’s Friday’ actor, dies at 74

Actor Chick Vennera, known for his frequent role as Enrique Mas on “The Golden Girls” has died, according to reports. He was 74.

His daughter Nicky Vennera confirmed the actor died Wednesday in his home in Burbank after battling lung cancer, according to reports from Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter.

The actor was born in Herkimer, New York, but later left the East Coast for California to study acting at the Pasadena Playhouse, according to IMDb.

Vennera’s acting career took off in the 70’s after taking on several TV roles before being cast in the 1978 disco movie ”Thank God It’s Friday” as the car dancing, leather-wearing Marv Gomez. He starred alongside Donna Summer and Valerie Landsburg.

After “It’s Friday,” Vennera had many more TV appearances including pop-ups on shows like “Vega$,” ”Diff’rent Strokes” and “The Karate Kid” series. In 1989 Vennera landed a role on the NBC Sitcom “The Golden Girls” which starred Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty. For three episodes, Vennera portrayed Mas, a TV reporter with a healthy ego and the boss to White’s Rose when she was looking for a second job.

Toward the late ‘90s, Vennera took on the voice acting medium, putting life into characters for beloved cartoons like “The Real Adventures of Johnny Quest,” “Cow and Chicken,” Steven Spielberg’s “Animaniacs” and “Pinky and the Brain.” In 2002 and 2004, he voiced the character Ferret in Kids’ WB cartoon “Static Shock.”

According to IMDB, Vennera was a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the voting body for the Academy Awards.

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