PROVIDENCE — Nicholas Cardi Jr., one of the famous trio whose television ads made them local celebrities, died Thursday at age 71 after a four-year battle with cancer.

In an advertisement to be published in Saturday’s Journal, Ron and Pete Cardi said, “From our grandmother Rosa starting Cardi’s Furniture in 1928, to our dad, Nicholas Cardi Sr. and uncle Peter, to NIROPE, Nick, Ron and Pete, our Cardi family tradition in the furniture and mattress business continues with Ron, Pete and our entire team of employees, for many years to come.”

The condolences began pouring in once the Cardis posted about their brother’s death on Twitter late Friday afternoon.

Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas J. Tobin wrote, “My thoughts and prayers are with the Cardi Family at this time of loss. May Nick rest in the peace and joy of God’s Kingdom.”

“He was a good man, a great businessman, a leader in the community,” said former House Minority Leader Patricia Morgan. “He will be missed. My sympathies to the Cardi family.”

“My deepest condolences to the Cardi family,” said Sabina Matos, president of the Providence City Council. Added Sen. Jack Reed: “He was a true gentleman who made a tremendous impact on those around him. We are grateful for the many contributions he and the Cardi brothers make to Rhode Island and wish them all the best.”

The Cardi brothers became household names, as famous in Rhode Island as the Marx Brothers, spoofing popular movies and television shows. As writer Bob Higgins said in a Journal story 20 years ago, “They’re on TV more than Letterman, Leno and Conan O’Brien put together.”

They riffed on the smash TV hit “ER,” the Rhode Island-based movie, “There’s Something About Mary,” even the Three Tenors.

It’s all about “having fun,” the Cardi brothers told The Journal in 1999.

One commercial was so popular, Ron Cardi heard a local moviegoer asking for tickets to “There’s something About the Cardis,” instead of the actual movie, “There’s Something About Mary.”

The commercials, as many as 50 a year, brought sales figures ranked up with successful retailers country-wide.

“We’ve stopped traffic individually and as a group,” Nick Cardi said in a Journal interview in 2000.

The original store opened in Cranston in 1928 as a dry goods store run by one of their grandmothers. Then their father, Nicholas Sr., and an uncle, Peter, took over the business.

The company eventually broke into furniture, carpeting and appliances. The Swansea store opened in 1989. The Warwick one opened in 1996.

As children, Ron Cardi said, the Cardi brothers “delivered furniture, ordered it and fixed it. We did everything from A to Z.”

When Harold’s Furniture entered liquidation proceedings in 1998, the Cardis offered to give credit to customers who lost deposits with Harold’s.

“It’s truly a gift to the people,” said Peter Cardi after a judge accepted the agreement. Cardi’s offered merchandise worth $235,000 to more than 150 customers.

Funeral arrangements have not yet been released.