Story highlights Margulies is perhaps best known as the mayor in 1984's "Ghostbusters"

He plays Elie Wiesel in the upcoming TV movie "Madoff"

(CNN) David Margulies, who worked steadily on stage and screen, including roles in "Ghostbusters" and "The Sopranos," died Monday, his agent Harry Abrams confirmed. He was 78.

A Brooklyn native, Margulies graduated from City College of New York and made his off-Broadway debut in 1958 in "Golden 6," according to his biography at the Milken Archive of Jewish Music.

His face was instantly recognizable from dozens of films and TV shows, including 1984's "Ghostbusters," in which he played the mayor of New York. He repeated the role in the 1989 sequel.

His big-screen career also included appearances in "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective," "Brighton Beach Memoirs" and "A Most Violent Year."

On the small screen, he was recognizable for parts on several TV shows including "The Sopranos" -- as Tony Soprano's lawyer, Neil Mink -- "Northern Exposure," "Law and Order" and "Touched by an Angel."