Jack Somack (September 14, 1918 â August 24, 1983) was an American actor and chemical engineer. He is best remembered for his appearance in the Alka-Seltzer "spicy meatball" television commercial.
Somack was born in Chicago, Illinois. He began his acting career in 1966, playing the lead role of Eddie Carbone in Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge.
In 1969 Somack appeared in the Alka-Seltzer "spicy meatball" commercial. He also appeared in the Broadway plays Paris Is Out! and The Prisoner of Second Avenue.
In the 1970s and 1980s Somack appeared and guest-starred in film and television programs including Barney Miller, The Rockford Files, Portnoy's Complaint, Sanford and Son, All in the Family, The Love Boat, Desperate Characters, Laverne & Shirley, The Frisco Kid, Eight Is Enough, The Pursuit of Happiness, Starsky & Hutch, Hero at Large, Kojak, The Main Event, The Jimmy Stewart Show, The Blue Knight and Family Ties. He also starred in the short-lived television series Ball Four and The Stockard Channing Show.
Somack died August 24, 1983, of a heart attack at the Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital in Los Angeles, at the age of 64. He had been rehearsing for a role in the television series Benson.