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Lena Dunham pays tribute to 'Girls' dad and 'humble icon' Peter Scolari

Scolari, who died Friday, earned an Emmy Award for his performance as Tad Horvath on "Girls."
/ Source: TODAY

Lena Dunham is honoring late actor Peter Scolari, who played her character's father on the hit HBO series "Girls."

Dunham, 35, posted a heartfelt tribute to Scolari soon after his death was announced Friday. Scolari died at age 66 of cancer.

Next to a gallery of photos featuring the two actors in scenes together, as well as a pic of Scolari and Tom Hanks in their classic sitcom "Bosom Buddies," Dunham called the late Emmy winner a "humble icon."

"The shyest extrovert, the most dramatic comedian, the most humble icon. You had lived enough life to know that a TV show was just a TV show, but also to appreciate just what it meant to be allowed to play pretend for a living — and you never let us forget that this job was a privilege," wrote Dunham.

She continued, "I remember when you came back from doing a production of the Music Man somewhere — the theater had basically been a barn, there had been no WiFi and you had no understudy — and you were as grateful and delighted as you were when you were nominated for an Emmy."

Peter Scolari, Lena Dunham, Becky Ann Baker in "Girls"
Scolari earned his only Emmy for his performance as Tad Horvath, the father of Dunham's character, Hannah, on the hit HBO series "Girls."Alamy Stock

Dunham recalled how much Scolari loved his four children — Nicholas, Joseph, Keaton and Cali — and also how he would regale her with memories from his decadeslong show business career.

"You bragged nonstop about your kids, you had the best stories — like when you did Circus of the Stars and 'that’s when I learned to walk a tightrope, there’s not much to it' — and when we told you that you would be coming out of the closet on the show you said 'thank you, you can trust me with this.'"

Dunham concluded her post by telling Scolari how much she and co-star Becky Ann Baker, who played her mother on "Girls," adored him.

"Becky Ann and I loved every second of playing your family and I couldn’t have been raised up by a better TV 'papa.' Thank you, Scolari, for every chat between set ups, every hug onscreen and off and every 'Oh, Jeez.' We will miss you so much," she wrote.

Scolari earned his only Emmy Award, in 2016, for his performance as Tad Horvath, a father and college professor who comes out as gay late in life, on "Girls."

In a 2015 interview with Vox, Scolari said it was "really important" for him to find a "respectful" way to portray his character. "For Tad to come out and make this self-determination and make this huge step in his life is not an easy walk," he said.

He added, "I should say, with some pridefulness, that I'm very respectful with what we're trying to achieve with this personal change."