Richard Romanus, star of ‘The Sopranos’ and pillar of classic television, dies at 80

Richard Romanus, the actor famous for playing loan shark Michael Longo in Martin Scorcese’s 1973 crime film. bad streets, has died. On December 23, the actor died in a private hospital in Volos, Greece, as confirmed The Hollywood Reporter. She was 80 years old.

After graduating from Xavier University in 1964, Romanus pursued a legal education but later decided to abandon it. He embarked on a trip to New York City, where he enrolled in theater classes with the esteemed Lee Strasberg at the renowned Actors Studio. In 1968 he debuted on the big screen in the horror film. The frightening ones with actors Veronica Rayburn, Hal Borske and Maggie Rogers.

In the 1973 film bad streets, directed and co-written by Martin Scorsese, Romanus played Michael. The character was the loan shark who confronted the troubled Johnny Boy, played by Robert De Niro. Scorcese recalled the memorable exchange of profanity between De Niro and Romanus as tense behind the scenes.

“Something had happened between Bobby and Richard. The animosity between them in that scene is real and I played with it,” Scorcese said, according to THR. “They had irritated each other to the point where I think they really wanted to kill each other. I kept filming take after take of Bobby yelling all these insults while the crew got really angry.”

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Richard Romanus had a prolific television career

Twenty-five years later, Romanus returned to the crime drama genre. Appeared on HBO. The sopranos as Richard La Penna, the ex-husband of Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco).

Romanus had a prolific television career, gracing the screens of several popular shows. His talents were showcased in iconic series like Mission Impossible, kojak, Charlie’s Angels, Starsky and Hutch, Hawaii Five-O, The Rockford Files, Fame, Hill Street Blues, MacGyver, The A team, chicago hope, Diagnosis Murder, Cagney and Laceyand New York Police Blue.

In addition to his on-screen appearances, Romanus also contributed his voice to several animated films. He played the character of Harry Canyon, a taxi driver, in the 1981 film. Heavy metal. He also voiced the character of Weehawk in the Ralph Bakshi film. magicians and Vinnie at Bakshi’s Hey, you look good’. Romano’s last film, The young black stallionIt was released in 2003.

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Romanus married his second wife, Anthea Sylbert, an Academy Award-nominated costume designer, in 1985. They later collaborated on two Lifetime films: 1998. Give up the ghost and 1999 If you believe, the latter of which earned a Writers Guild of America nomination. In 2004, the couple moved to the Greek island of Skiathos. Here, Romano wrote several notable books, including Chrysalis (2011), Sketches of Skiathos (2013), and The echo of Matoula (2014). Additionally, he is the author of a memoir titled Act III in 2012.

Romanus is survived by his son from his first marriage to actress and singer Tina Bohlmann. She is also survived by his younger brother, Robert Romanus, known for his role in Fast times at Ridgemont Highand his second wife, Anthea Sylbert.

Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn

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