<Tr> <Th> Occupation </Th> <Td> Actor </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Years active </Th> <Td> 1970--present </Td> </Tr> <P> Daniel G. Hedaya (born July 24, 1940) is an American character actor . He often plays sleazy villains or uptight, wisecracking individuals; four of his best - known roles are as Italian Mafia boss Tony Costello in Wise Guys, a cuckolded husband in the Coen brothers' crime thriller Blood Simple, Carla Tortelli's ex-husband Nick on the sitcom Cheers, and Tom Hanks's boss in Joe Versus the Volcano . He also played Mel Horowitz, the father of Cherilyn "Cher" Horowitz, played by Alicia Silverstone, in the film Clueless . </P> <P> Hedaya was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a Sephardic Jewish family from Syria . His father emigrated from Aleppo . Hedaya was raised in Bensonhurst, and worked as a junior high school teacher for many years before deciding to pursue acting full - time . </P>

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