DennisFarina, who spent 20 years as a police officer in Chicago before he
began patrolling Hollywood as a character actor, starring as a
detective on the television shows “Law & Order” and “CrimeStory” and sometimes crossing into crime, as he did in the movie
“Get Shorty,” died on Monday in Scottsdale, Ariz. He was 69.
His
publicist, Lori De Waal, announced the death. She said he had
recently had a blood clot in his lung.
Mr.Farina eventually had a longer career as an actor than he did in law
enforcement, infusing dozens of roles with world-weary credibility
and a convincing nexus of nose and mustache.
He
had been working as a detective in a special burglary unit in Chicago
when a mutual friend introduced him to the director Michael Mann, who
was making his first feature film, “Thief.” Mr. Farina was
initially a consultant for the movie before being given a small role
as a crime boss’s enforcer. The film, which starred James Caan, was
released in 1981.
For
several years afterward, Mr. Farina juggled his police job with local
theater roles and appearances in movies and television shows. He was
often cast by Mr. Mann, including in several episodes of his hit show
“Miami Vice.”
Mr.Farina quit police work after Mr. Mann cast him in 1986 in the NBC
series “Crime Story” as Lt. Mike Torello, a detective who pursues
a Chicago mobster to Las Vegas. “Crime Story” was well regarded
by critics but lasted just two seasons.
Mr.
Farina’s work in “Crime Story” led to a role in the 1986 film
“Manhunter,” which Mr. Mann also directed. In 1988 Mr. Farina
appeared in the film “Midnight Run” and in 1998 in Steven
Spielberg’s World War II epic, “Saving Private Ryan.”
One
of his most notable characters was the mobster Ray (Bones) Barboni in
the 1995 film “Get Shorty,” based on the novel by Elmore Leonard.
The movie, which also starred John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo
and Danny DeVito, was a critical and commercial success; Janet
Maslin, writing in The New York Times, called Mr. Farina’s work “a
funny deadpan performance.”
The
quality of roles he accepted declined for a time after “Get Shorty”
— he appeared in a short-lived sitcom on NBC, “ In-Laws,” and
in several disappointing films, including “Stealing Harvard” —
but his fortunes improved in 2004, when he was cast as the dapper
detective Joe Fontana on “Law & Order.”
In
a radio interview several years ago, Mr. Farina said his character on
that show was “firm but fair” and “took advantage of every inch
that he could, and if that didn’t work sometimes maybe he had to
stretch things a little.”
Mr.
Farina said he was honored to be on the show, one of the
longest-running in television history, but was also amused, as a
former detective, by the increasing number of programs that
emphasized the roles of scientists in solving crimes.
“While
forensics plays a huge part in law enforcement nowadays, you still
need the foot soldiers,” he told The Times in 2004. “You still
need the guy who can knock on the door, you still need the guy who
can write down the license plate numbers.”
In
2012, Mr. Farina appeared on the short-lived HBO series “Luck” as
a henchman to a horse-racing gambler played by Dustin Hoffman. The
show, which had its premiere in 2012, ceased filming in March after
three horses died during production.
He
most recently appeared on the Fox comedy “New Girl” and was in
two movies tentatively scheduled for release this year, “Authors
Anonymous” and “Lucky Stiff.”
Mr.
Farina was born on Feb. 29, 1944, in Chicago. His survivors include
his longtime companion, Marianne Cahill; three sons, Dennis Jr.,
Michael and Joseph, and six grandchildren. His first marriage ended
in divorce.
Even
after Mr. Farina left the Chicago Police Department in the mid-1980s,
he continued to live in his hometown, and the characters he played
were often from Chicago even if a show or movie was set elsewhere.
The Chicago police superintendent, Garry F. McCarthy, said in a
statement on Monday that Mr. Farina was “a true-blue Chicago
character” who “never forgot where he came from.”
Mr.Farina said as much himself.
“My
personality was formed by Chicago,“ he told Cigar Aficionado
magazine in 1999. “It’s very American, very straightforward. If
you can’t find it, or make it there, you won’t make it anywhere.
It’s a very honest place.”
Source:
nytimes
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