Full Breakdown
E.J. Peaker, ‘Hello, Dolly!’ actress and TV veteran, dies at 82
7/28/2026, 3:48:04 AM
E.J. Peaker’s Passing
Her husband, pilot and musician Scott Rosen, confirmed that Peaker died of Alzheimer’s disease at her Las Vegas home on May 16. She was 82.
Early Life and Training
Born Edra Jean Peaker in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1944, she grew up in Pueblo, Colorado, after her family moved there. After graduating from Centennial High School, she studied drama for a year at the University of New Mexico and another year at the University of Vienna on scholarship.
Television and Film Career
Peaker’s first professional work was with the road company of *Bye Bye Birdie* and as an understudy for Elizabeth Ashley in the original Broadway production of *Barefoot in the Park* (1963). She made her screen debut on a 1964 episode of *Route 66* and later signed a Screen Gems contract that placed her in series such as *Occasional Wife*, *That Girl*, *The Flying Nun* and *The Second Hundred Years*.
In 1968 she was selected from more than 200 candidates to play Minnie Fay, the chatty hat-shop assistant, opposite Barbra Streisand in the film *Hello, Dolly!* (1969). The same year she co-starred with Robert Morse on ABC’s musical comedy *That’s Life*, a one-season, 26-episode series that featured guest stars including George Burns, Ethel Merman, Liza Minnelli and Goldie Hawn.
Her later résumé spanned dozens of popular shows: *Love, American Style* (1970-73), *The Tonight Show* (17 appearances), *The Greatest American Hero*, *Madame’s Place*, *Charlie’s Angels*, *The Rockford Files*, *The Streets of San Francisco*, *Wonder Woman* and many others.
Advocacy and Legacy
A 1986 Los Angeles Times article highlighted Peaker’s efforts to aid the homeless in Encino, California. Over the years she and publicist David Mirisch helped raise millions of dollars for charitable causes, according to her husband.
She was married twice—first to film producer Bob Zampino and later to accountant Steven Lee Salko, who died in 2010—and is survived by her son David and several siblings. A memorial service is planned later this month in Pueblo, Colorado.
