Comedian acted in TV commercials

Jack Eagle, 81, a roly-poly comedian and actor who appeared in commercials, most notably as Brother Dominic in a Xerox ad that first aired during the 1977 Super Bowl, died Jan. 10 in New York, Newsday reported. The cause of death was not given.

The 5-foot-4, 210-pound Jewish comedian had a stand-up act in the Catskills before landing the role that gave him international recognition. Playing a medieval monk, he was able to quickly reproduce 500 illuminated manuscripts, to which his abbot exclaimed, “It’s a miracle!”

“A general call had gone out for a cherubic type,” Eagle told a Times reporter in 1977. “Of course, I’ve never thought of myself that way. I’ve always seen myself as more of a Gregory Peck type.”

In 1978, Eagle said in an interview with the Associated Press that he earned more from his commercial work in the previous two years than he had in all his prior work in show business.

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Jan. 15, 1926, Eagle played the trumpet during the big-band era. He began doing commercials in the early 1960s. Among his other notable parts was Mr. Cholesterol in commercials for Fleischmann’s margarine in the 1970s.