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Dennis Farina
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Dennis Farina
Donaldo Gugliermo "Dennis" Farina (February 29, 1944 – July 22, 2013) was an American actor and Chicago police detective. Known for his roles as mobsters or police officers, his involvement in the entertainment industry began through his association with filmmaker Michael Mann, who employed Farina as an actor and technical advisor. After supporting parts in Mann's films Thief (1981) and Manhunter (1986), he was cast in the lead role of Lieutenant Mike Torello on the NBC television series Crime Story, produced by Mann.
Farina's other notable roles included New York City Police Department Detective Joe Fontana in seasons 15 and 16 of Law & Order (2004–2006), Jimmy Serrano in Midnight Run, Ray "Bones" Barboni in Get Shorty, Abraham "Cousin Avi" Denovitz in Snatch, Walt Miller on New Girl, and Gus Demitriou on HBO's Luck. He also worked as a stage actor with the Steppenwolf Theater Company in Chicago.
Farina was born on a leap day (February 29, 1944) in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood, the fourth son and youngest of the seven children of Joseph and Yolanda Farina. Farina's father, who was from Villalba, Sicily, was a Chicago-area doctor, and his mother a homemaker. They raised their children in a North Avenue home in Old Town, a working-class neighborhood with a broad ethnic mixture, with Italians and Germans the predominant ethnicities.
Before becoming an actor, Farina served three years (from 1962 to 1965) in the United States Army during the Vietnam Era, followed by 18 years in the Chicago Police Department (1967 to 1985), during which he advanced from patrolman to detective.
In 1982, while still working as a detective, he made his stage debut in the Steppenwolf Theater Company production of A Prayer for My Daughter, directed by John Malkovich. Chicago Tribune critic Richard Christianson criticized the production but said that Farina and other actors had "moments that were riveting."
Reviewing a 1983 production of David Rabe's Streamers, Christianson praised Farina's performance as "beautiful" and said "he is becoming a fine actor." In 1984, he appeared as Nick in a Chicago production of William Saroyan's The Time of Your Life. Ted Levine, who appeared with him in Crime Story, was in the cast.
Farina began working for director Michael Mann as a police consultant, which led Mann to cast him in a small role in the 1981 film Thief. Farina worked with Mann again, as mobster Albert Lombard, in several episodes of Miami Vice. He moonlighted as an actor in Chicago-based films (like Code of Silence, a 1985 Chuck Norris film) and theater before Mann chose him for his Crime Story series, which aired on NBC from 1986 to 1988. His role of Detective Lt. Mike Torello on Crime Story was as a Chicago police officer, assigned to the U.S. Justice Department. He later starred as the title character in Buddy Faro, a short-lived 1998 private detective series on CBS.
Farina played mob boss Jimmy Serrano in the comedy-crime film Midnight Run; and Ray "Bones" Barboni, a rival criminal to Chili Palmer, in Get Shorty. He played FBI Agent Jack Crawford in Michael Mann's Manhunter, the first film to feature the character Hannibal Lecter. His other film appearances include Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, Striking Distance, Another Stakeout, Snatch, The Mod Squad, Reindeer Games, Men of Respect, Big Trouble and Out of Sight. He played a baseball manager in Little Big League and a nemesis basketball coach in Eddie.
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Dennis Farina
Donaldo Gugliermo "Dennis" Farina (February 29, 1944 – July 22, 2013) was an American actor and Chicago police detective. Known for his roles as mobsters or police officers, his involvement in the entertainment industry began through his association with filmmaker Michael Mann, who employed Farina as an actor and technical advisor. After supporting parts in Mann's films Thief (1981) and Manhunter (1986), he was cast in the lead role of Lieutenant Mike Torello on the NBC television series Crime Story, produced by Mann.
Farina's other notable roles included New York City Police Department Detective Joe Fontana in seasons 15 and 16 of Law & Order (2004–2006), Jimmy Serrano in Midnight Run, Ray "Bones" Barboni in Get Shorty, Abraham "Cousin Avi" Denovitz in Snatch, Walt Miller on New Girl, and Gus Demitriou on HBO's Luck. He also worked as a stage actor with the Steppenwolf Theater Company in Chicago.
Farina was born on a leap day (February 29, 1944) in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood, the fourth son and youngest of the seven children of Joseph and Yolanda Farina. Farina's father, who was from Villalba, Sicily, was a Chicago-area doctor, and his mother a homemaker. They raised their children in a North Avenue home in Old Town, a working-class neighborhood with a broad ethnic mixture, with Italians and Germans the predominant ethnicities.
Before becoming an actor, Farina served three years (from 1962 to 1965) in the United States Army during the Vietnam Era, followed by 18 years in the Chicago Police Department (1967 to 1985), during which he advanced from patrolman to detective.
In 1982, while still working as a detective, he made his stage debut in the Steppenwolf Theater Company production of A Prayer for My Daughter, directed by John Malkovich. Chicago Tribune critic Richard Christianson criticized the production but said that Farina and other actors had "moments that were riveting."
Reviewing a 1983 production of David Rabe's Streamers, Christianson praised Farina's performance as "beautiful" and said "he is becoming a fine actor." In 1984, he appeared as Nick in a Chicago production of William Saroyan's The Time of Your Life. Ted Levine, who appeared with him in Crime Story, was in the cast.
Farina began working for director Michael Mann as a police consultant, which led Mann to cast him in a small role in the 1981 film Thief. Farina worked with Mann again, as mobster Albert Lombard, in several episodes of Miami Vice. He moonlighted as an actor in Chicago-based films (like Code of Silence, a 1985 Chuck Norris film) and theater before Mann chose him for his Crime Story series, which aired on NBC from 1986 to 1988. His role of Detective Lt. Mike Torello on Crime Story was as a Chicago police officer, assigned to the U.S. Justice Department. He later starred as the title character in Buddy Faro, a short-lived 1998 private detective series on CBS.
Farina played mob boss Jimmy Serrano in the comedy-crime film Midnight Run; and Ray "Bones" Barboni, a rival criminal to Chili Palmer, in Get Shorty. He played FBI Agent Jack Crawford in Michael Mann's Manhunter, the first film to feature the character Hannibal Lecter. His other film appearances include Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, Striking Distance, Another Stakeout, Snatch, The Mod Squad, Reindeer Games, Men of Respect, Big Trouble and Out of Sight. He played a baseball manager in Little Big League and a nemesis basketball coach in Eddie.
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