Dennis Farina, the actor mostly known for his presence on “Law & Order”, “Crime Story” and “Miami Vice” has died. He was 69-years-old.
Farina has a long career as a police officer in Chicago, but joined the acting world when he met Michael Mann, who cast him in the movie “Thief” in 1981. The role led him to other Mann-created shows such as “Miami Vice”, where Farina played a mobster, and “Crime Story”, where he stared as Lt. Mike Torello.
The actor has also had roles in a number of movies, mainly as cops and gangsters. He has appeared in “Midnight Run” (1988), “Get Shorty” (1995), “The Mod Squad” (1999), and “Snatch” (2000).
In 2004 he joined the cast of “Law & Order” as Detective Joe Fontana after Jerry Orbach’s death and became partners with Jessie Martin’s character, Ed Green.
Farina was born in 1944 in Chicago’s old town neighborhood. He became a police officer in the late 60s and soon graduated to detective.
