'Seinfeld' Actor Daniel von Bargen Has Died

"For the past five years, he had been grappling with health issues that precluded his active pursuit of work," his former agents say in a statement to PEOPLE

By

Published on March 4, 2015 02:50 PM

Colleagues of Seinfeld actor Daniel von Bargen are mourning the death of the actor, who died over the weekend after a long illness, Cincinnati’s WLWT 5 reports. He was 64.

“That guy was so great! I just saw that myself on the news,” Jerry Seinfeld told PEOPLE on Wednesday at the augural Los Angeles Fatherhood Lunch To Benefit Baby Buggy at the Palm in Beverly Hills. “You know, whenever that happens, I think of their funny things that they did.

Jason Alexander, who played George on the NBC sitcom, also remembered von Bargen at the event.

“He did a lovely job on the show and seemed like just a sweetheart of a man,” he told PEOPLE. “It’s sad. It’s just sad.”

Von Bargen was perhaps best known for playing Kruger on Seinfeld and Commandant Edwin Spangler on Malcolm in the Middle.

“We are learning of this event at the same time as the rest of the industry and are deeply saddened to hear of Daniel’s loss,” his voice-over agents at Access Talent said in a statement released to PEOPLE on Wednesday.

The star was reportedly a diabetic and was hospitalized in 2012 after a failed suicide attempt.

“For the past five years, he had been grappling with health issues that precluded his active pursuit of work,” von Bargen’s former agents say of the actor, who also had a lengthy résumé of film work including roles in O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Super Troopers.

“We remember him fondly for his easy-going professionalism and dry wit, both of which stood in stark contrast to the driven and near-maniacal roles he often performed with such energy and intensity,” they continue. “He was a joy to work with and we have missed that association since his semi-retirement to Cincinnati.”

• With reporting by ABBY STERN