Vic Tayback, The Bad Cook On Television's `Alice' Show

GLENDALE, Calif. - Actor Vic Tayback, who played Mel, the crusty diner owner, on the old ``Alice'' television series, died at home of a heart attack today, his agent said. He was 60.

Tayback, who had a history of heart problems, including triple-bypass surgery in 1983, died in his sleep at 1 a.m., said his agent and friend of 20 years, Fred Amsel.

Paramedics took Tayback to Glendale Adventist Hospital but there was no chance of reviving him, Amsel said.

Although he was best known to TV viewers as the loudmouth Mel Sharples for nine years, Tayback played supporting roles in numerous motion pictures, including ``Papillon'' and ``Bullitt.'' His TV movie credits included ``The Night the City Screamed'' in 1980, ``The Jesse Owens Story'' in 1984 and ``The Three Kings'' in 1987.

He was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y. Before turning to acting full time, he was a bank teller and a cab driver.

On ``Alice,'' Tayback took a lot of kidding about his cooking, and it became a running gag on the CBS comedy series.

``If I walked into a restaurant, the other diners would look around and say, `I hope you're not cooking,' '' Tayback said in a 1985 interview.

It was just the sort of thing Heinz U.S.A. was looking for in a new spokesman for its Heinz 57 Sauce. The theme was, ``I used to be a lousy cook.''

Tayback said his many commercials over the years were responsible for sustaining him in the business. ``I tell young actors to do anything that will sustain them. Too many actors get on an ego trip and won't do commercials, so they sit around for 20 years between jobs,'' he said.

Survivors include his wife, Sheila, and son, Christopher.