RIP Dennis Farina

[soundgardener75]

Loved him at Snatch.

RIP

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Dennis Farina Dies at 69 - The Hollywood Reporter

Dennis Farina Dies at 69

Dennis Farina, the former real-life Chicago cop who playing coiled, hot-tempered characters in movies and on television, died Monday in Scottsdale, Ariz., from a blood clot in his lung, his publicist said. He was 69.

Farina, who starred as characters on both sides of the law, was perhaps most memorable as short-fused Miami gangster Ray “Bones” Barboni in Barry Sonnenfeld’s sharp comedy crime thriller Get Shorty (1995).

He won an American Comedy Award for the role and shared a SAG nomination for outstanding performance by a cast with John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, Danny De Vito, et al.

Farina also appeared as Detective Joe Farina in 46 episodes of NBC’s Law & Order, added to the cast following the death of Jerry Orbach. That made him the only performer on the Dick Wolf series with an actual background in law enforcement. He left in 2006 to pursue film projects.

“I was stunned and saddened to hear about Dennis’ unexpected passing this morning,” Wolf said in a statement. “The Law & Order family extends sympathy and condolences to his family. He was a great guy.”

Farina starred on Michael Mann’s late 1980s NBC crime drama Crime Story, playing Lt. Michael Torello in 43 episodes. He starred as the private detective title character on his own 1998 CBS series Buddy Faro, which only lasted eight episodes. He hosted TV’s Unsolved Mysteries starting in 2008 after the death of original host Robert Stack, and he had a recent role as Dustin Hoffman’s right-hand man Gus in David Milch’s short-lived HBO horse-racing series Luck.

Farina also famously starred as a Chicago mob boss swindled by accountant Charles Grodin in Martin Brest’s Midnight Run (1998); as an army colonel in Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan (1998); as the retired lawman father of Jennifer Lopez’s character in Steven Soderbergh’s Out of Sight (1998); and as a Jewish diamond merchant in Guy Ritchie’s Snatch (2000).

His other credits include Romeo Is Bleeding (1993), Another Stakeout (1993), Striking Distance (1993), Little Big League (1994), That Old Feeling (1997), The Mod Squad (1999), Reindeer Games (2000), Sidewalks of New York (2001) and Big Trouble (2002).

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of a great actor and a wonderful man,” his publicist, Lori De Waal, said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “Dennis Farina was always warm-hearted and professional, with a great sense of humor and passion for his profession. He will be greatly missed by his family, friends and colleagues. We hope that he finds a new life where great roles are plentiful and the Cubs are always winning the pennant.”

A 10-year veteran of the Chicago police force, Farina was discovered by director Mann during the filming of Thief (1981). Farina had served as Mann’s tour guide. Impressed by his street savvy, the director cast him in the film. Farina parlayed that performance into a number of TV guest-star appearances on such NBC crime series Hunter and Miami Vice, executive produced by Mann.

He also appeared in Mann’s Manhunter (1986), one of Thomas Harris’ novels featuring Hannibal Lecter. Farina played dogged FBI pursuer Jack Crawford, a role later limned by Scott Glenn in The Silence of the Lambs. Also for Mann, Farina starred on the late 1980s NBC crime drama Crime Story, playing Lt. Michael Torello in 43 episodes.

His intense swagger cut smartly in comedy: Farina played in the HBO's Golden Globe-winning telefilm Empire Falls (2005) and starred in the NBC sitcom In-Laws in the early 2000s.

More recently, he acted in such movie fare as You Kill Me (2007), What Happens in Vegas (2008), Bottle Shock (2008) and The Last Rights of Joe May (2011). He has roles in two films yet to be released: Authors Anonymous and Lucky Stiff, now filming, according to IMDb.com.

Farina was born to Sicilian-American parents on Feb. 29, 1944 in Chicago. After graduating from high school, he served three years in the Army and then entered law enforcement. He was a Chicago cop during the 1968 riots sparked by the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and contended the force got a “bum rap” from the media. Reportedly, he was such a bad shot that his fellow officers nicknamed him “The Great Wounder.”

After being discovered by Mann, he took a year’s leave of absence from the force. After a year in Los Angeles, he decided to concentrate on acting full-time and made his foray into television in the mid-’80s with the 1984 American Playhouse production of The Killing Floor and the 1986 telefilm Triplecross.

Farina guest-starred on such other TV series as China Beach and Tales From the Crypt and this year appeared in two episodes as the dilettante father of Nick (Jake Johnson) on Fox’s New Girl.

A veteran of the Chicago theater, Farina starred in such plays as Joseph Mantegna’s Bleacher Bums; A Prayer for My Daughter, directed by John Malkovich and Tracers, a Joseph Jefferson Award winner for best ensemble directed by Gary Sinise).

Survivors include sons Dennis, Michael and Joseph and six grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to to The 100 Club of Chicago, which provides for the families of police officers, firefighters and paramedics who have lost their lives in the line of duty. Funeral services are pending.

[Yarbicus]

Truly awesome character actor. RIP

[JiveTurkey]

Truly awesome character actor. RIP

THIS x infinity. Big loss for the acting community. He was great in a lot of things as he brought a great sense of comedic delivery to all of his roles. Even when he was being an a-hole. NSFW clip FYI
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RHBOfM9CFQ[/video]

[ComOp]

Oh man, another talented actor gone.

[ovid9]

Man, this sucks. I liked him.

[Yarbicus]

Midnight Run is one of my all time favorite movies in large part do to him. "Is this moron number one? Put moron number two on the phone."

[Casey4s]

Bummer, he was a really cool dude. RIP

[Elessar [Sly]]

Ahh damn... he was great in snatch- which I saw again recently at the weekend.

[TurboPablo]

Midnight Run is one of my all time favorite movies in large part do to him. "Is this moron number one? Put moron number two on the phone."

Yup. Get Shorty is my other favorite of his.

I have to go rent Midnight Run now. It's been too long.

[RokkenRoll]

Such a great actor, another one bites the dust.

Dennis Farina will always be known as Jimmy Cerano or Ray Barboni by me. I own Midnight Run and Get Shorty and watch them all the time, classic freaking lines in both of those movies

[TurboPablo]

Such a great actor, another one bites the dust.

Dennis Farina will always be known as Jimmy Cerano or Ray Barboni by me. I own Midnight Run and Get Shorty and watch them all the time, classic freaking lines in both of those movies

Yeah, I've forgotten just how underhanded the comedy in both those movie really is. It's kind of funny to find out he was a Cop for 18 years. Talk about type casting. He apparently knew both sides of the characters he played inside and out

[donbarzini]

Midnight Run is one of my all time favorite movies in large part do to him. "Is this moron number one? Put moron number two on the phone."

classic....

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_tWmEfrJcs[/video]