Joe Restivo, 54, former comedian, restaurant owner

LOS ANGELES -- Joe Restivo, a former comedian and co-owner of the Vitello's restaurant in Studio City where Robert Blake and his wife dined before she was fatally shot, has died. He was 54.

Mr. Restivo died Tuesday, according to the Forest Lawn mortuary in Hollywood Hills. It did not release the cause of death.

Mr. Restivo began doing standup in Chicago in 1976 and performed in the Los Angeles area until the early 1990s. He also worked as a character actor.

In 1977, he and his brother, Steve, bought Vitello's, a celebrity hangout. Its menu included a spinach and pasta dish bearing the name of Blake, the former ``Baretta" star. The Restivos sold the business last year.

The restaurant was thrust into the spotlight on May 4, 2001, when Blake's wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, was found shot to death in Blake's car on a nearby street. Blake was acquitted of murdering her.