God must be casting a mob movie in Heaven, because a month after he took James Gandolfini, we’ve lost 69-year-old Dennis Farina. I know that’s a horrible lede, but there’s no non-crappy way to report such crappy news.
The death was reported by Farina’s publicist, and it appears he died “suddenly” of a blood clot in his lung at his home in Scottsdale. Farina, who had three sons and six grandchildren, was divorced but survived by Marianne Cahill, “the love of his life for 35 years.”
Born on Leap Day in 1944 (about half a year older than my dad), Farina was one of those memorable-faced character actors who showed up everywhere and always did a great job. He played a lot of cops, including a detective on Law & Order, which makes sense considering he spent 18 years in the Chicago Police Department’s burglary division from 1967 to 1985. I get excited just imagining his sarcasm-drenched interrogation style.
Some of my favorite Farina roles include Cousin Avi in Snatch (“F*ckin’ London!”), Karen Sisco’s cop father in Out of Sight (“That’s a nice hat, do you have another one that says ‘Undercover’?”), and Jimmy Serrano in Midnight Run, all of which are non-negotiable must-sees. God damn I love Out of Sight.
RIP, Dennis Farina, you salty old bastard.
The Best of Jimmy Serrano.
Bad food, worse weather, LONDON!
Here’s one of my favorites of his, from Out of Sight, though I can’t seem to get it to load.
Get Shorty.