WAYNE, N.J. — Stage and screen actor Dan Resin, who portrayed the dapper Ty-D-Bol man in television commercials for the toilet bowl cleaner, has died.
He was 79.
Mr. Resin also played Dr. Beeper, the snobbish physician and country club member in the classic comedy film “Caddyshack.’’
Mr. Resin died Saturday of complications of Parkinson’s disease, said his daughter, Elizabeth Olynick.
Mr. Resin was a resident of Secaucus, N.J., for nearly 50 years before he moved to Wayne four years ago.
As the Ty-D-Bol man, Mr. Resin wore a captain’s uniform and sailed off in a motorboat across the sparkling blue waters of a toilet tank after his product pitch: “Helps clean and deodorize your bowl automatically every time you flush.’’
Mr. Resin was born Daniel Wrzesien in South Bend, Ind., and studied music and theater at Indiana University. After a stint in the Army at Fort Monmouth, he headed to New York to pursue an acting career.
He performed roles on Broadway in such productions as “My Fair Lady,’’ “Once Upon a Mattress,’’ and “Don’t Drink the Water.’’
As an actor, Olynick said, her father probably enjoyed his stage roles more, but the television commercial work and films made him a recognizable face.
“He enjoyed the notoriety from those roles,’’ she said.
Mr. Resin appeared in hundreds of television commercials for products ranging from the New York Lottery to Bird’s Eye Frozen Vegetables.
In his later years, he was active in raising money for research on Parkinson’s disease through the annual Parkinson’s Unity Walk in New York City.
In addition to his daughter Elizabeth, he leaves his wife of 55 years, Margaret; two other daughters; a brother; and two sisters.
A funeral Mass is scheduled for tomorrow in Secaucus.
