European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 26, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Profile Peter Scolari making a living at being obnoxious by Jerry Buck associated press Pete Scolari says he was born in new Roche Lac n.y., the Home of Rob and Laura  Scolari says this with a Little sideways smile the Way his character Michael Harris does on lbs s Newhart. I was shocked at the age of 9 to learn that Rod and Laura realty did t live in new Rochelle he said. Rob was Dick Van Dyke and Laura was Mary Tyler Moore in the classic 1960s comedy the Dick Van Dyke show. Scolari grew up in nearby Scarsdale where his father commuted to work As a lawyer in new York City. I was very close to my father he said. He passed on nine years ago. I miss him More than i can say. He had Hopes i d become a lawyer. He did t know anything about acting so he sent a Friend who was a theatrical lawyer to see me in a High school play. He wanted to know if i was wasting my Lime. His Friend said i was Good and he got behind  Scolari joined Newhart this past season after the departure of Steven Kampmann who had been with the show the first two years. Scolari s function As Michael Harris is essentially the same to be an annoyance to Star Bob Newhart. He previously starred with Tom Hanks in bosom buddies which has developed something of a cult following in reruns and was a recurring character on the Coo Lime girls. I was a guest Star twice in the second season of Newhart he said. After my second appearance they asked me to become a regular in the third Peter Scolari plays he Prepp a that everyone Loces to hate on Newhart season. When the guest Star role first came up my agent asked if i would consider Reading for it As if it would be beneath my dignity. I ran to the  the producers decided to make the switch when it became apparent that Kampmann s character had nowhere to go. The character was supposed to antagonize Newhart but he had become too Strong. Scolari s character produces the to show Vermont today with Newhart As the Host which gives them More Opportunity to develop stories. When you have an obnoxious character you can go one Way As Danny Devito did on taxi and become a character you love to hate said Scolari. Or you can have a character who s obnoxious and does t realize it As i do with Michael. This year Michael will be a lot More human. It s to avoid the same trap that Steven fell into and to keep in step with the rest of the show. Michael was brought in to be a Thorn in Bob s Side but now we re getting stories of Michael becoming Bob s surrogate son. He s going to Bob with his problems. Bob May think he s a Buffoon As a producer but he likes him and wants to help him become a  Scolari studied acting at Occidental College in los Angeles and literature at the City College of new York. He auditioned for repertory companies and was accepted by one off Broadway group. I stayed there for seven years and that s where i got my training he said. I was trained in an ensemble of actors to be an ensemble actor and that s never changed. I be worked mostly in ensembles since then. I had a few Small roles while at the theater in films like dog Day afternoon and Serpico. But i was really outside the commercial world. I was 22 years old. I imagined i had it made making $30 a Day and standing around a movie  bosom buddies was a farce in which Scolari and Hanks dressed in drag in order to live in a cheap apartment House exclusively for women. Abc wanted to cancel it after the first year but they Gol nearly 20,000 letters and decided to pick it up again he said. They kept picking it up for Only a few shows at a time. I think it was the worst display of Confidence a network could show. Tom and i were both thrilled when it was  20 stripes Magazine september 26,1995