Jon Polito, a man who amassed more than 220 film and TV credits in a career spanning 35 years, has died. He was 65.
Born in Philadelphia in 1950, and studied acting at the University of the Arts in the city. He worked on stage as well as screen, and became known for playing characters on both sides of the law, with a no-nonsense attitude and an easy scowl that belied a bigger heart.
He made his screen debut in 1981's TV series The Gangster Chronicles, playing Thomas "Three Fingers Brown" Lucchese. That spawned a successful small screen career that took in a multitude of guest spots and a few leads, most notably as detective Steve Crosetti in Homicide: Life On The Street. Polito was working until recently, and appeared in an episode of Major Crimes this past July.
In cinema, he often played cops and detectives, and became best known for frequent appearances in the Coen brothers' films, popping up in Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink, The Hudsucker Proxy, The Big Lebowski and The Man Who Wasn't There. Other movies included Highlander, The Rocketeer, The Crow, Stuart Little, The Tailor Of Panama, Flags Of Our Fathers, and Tim Burton's Big Eyes.
Polito had been suffering from cancer and was taken off life support on Thursday. He's survived by his husband, Darryl Armbruster.