He made a rare western, portraying legendary lawman Charlie Siringo in a 1995 television movie, Bonanza: Under Attack, a followup to the hit 1960s series. It was released posthumously in 2014. Farina received the Commitment to Chicago Award at the 2011 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards. He was working in the burglary division when he was introduced to director Michael Mann who hired him as a guide to understand the Chicago underworld. Soon, a working relationship formed between the two, which would last for the next three decades. Mann, who is a Chicago native himself, wanted to use the city as the backdrop for his first feature film. His fiancee is Patricia Farina (m. 1970–1980). His time on the Chicago police force found him front-and-center during the … Spouse/Ex-: Patricia Farina (m. 1970–1980), See the events in life of Dennis Farina in Chronological Order. Fontana: Dennis Farina. Fontana shared a number of other characteristics with the actor who played him; they came from the same Chicago neighborhood, attended the same parochial school, and had the same tastes in clothes and music and were fans of the Chicago Cubs. Even in this film, which is about an estranged couple rekindling their romance in the midst of their daughter’s wedding, Farina maintained his usual approach to acting. The other, Charlie, was played by Leo Rossi. His role of Detective Lt. Mike Torello on Crime Story was as a Chicago police officer, who was assigned to the U.S. Justice Department. This was his second film with Mann. St. Michael's Central High School, located in the Old Town section of Chicago at North and Hudson Avenues (near Wells Street), was opened as a two-year, co-institutional parish school … A critical and commercial success, ‘Get Shorty’ was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. Farina also appeared in the 1992 miniseries ‘Cruel Doubt’, which was based on the book of the same name by Joe McGinniss. My dad has a better one. 3. [9] After reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors, he pleaded no contest and was sentenced to two years' probation on July 17, 2008.[10]. In early 2005, he lent his voice to Wildcat, the boxer turned superhero, in ‘Justice League Unlimited’. Dennis has 4 jobs listed on their profile. It was an NBC police drama that was revolutionary for its storytelling format. He played a Miami-based gangster who starts clashing with a loan shark named Chili Palmer (John Travolta) over a stolen coat. After graduating from high school, Farina decided to "get the Army out of the way" and served three years before returning to Chicago. In October 2008, he became the new host of Unsolved Mysteries when it returned to television with a new five-season, 175-episode run on Spike TV. After he returned home, he joined the Chicago Police Department, following the suggestion of one of his brothers, an attorney. He joined the Chicago Police Department in 1967 and specialized in the burglary section until 1985. 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. Dennis Farina was born Feb. 29, 1944, in Chicago, ... “I think my high-school acting career lasted a day,” he told the Newark Star-Ledger. He spent the most of his later life with his long-time girlfriend Marianne Cahill in Chicago and Scottsdale, Arizona. Between 2011 and 2012, he starred alongside Dustin Hoffman in HBO’s drama series ‘Luck’. The film, released posthumously in 2014, was dedicated to his memory. He appeared in the 2002 film Stealing Harvard, a comedy in which he played a tough-talking, overprotective father-in-law. In early 2013, he voiced the father of Daffy Duck's girlfriend on The Looney Tunes Show, and played himself in an April 13, 2014, episode of the animated series Family Guy called "The Most Interesting Man in the World," aired posthumously, one of his final acting roles. In the ensuing years, he garnered a reputation for effortlessly evoking the grittiness of a life beyond the gloss and glamour of the tinsel town in his characters. http://miamivice.wikia.com/wiki/Dennis_Farina, https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2013/07/22/204548980/law-and-order-actor-dennis-farina-dies, https://variety.com/2013/biz/news/dennis-farina-dead-law-and-order-1200566231/, https://www.eonline.com/news/441294/r-i-p-dennis-farina-his-most-memorable-tv-roles, http://www.vulture.com/2014/03/oscars-in-memoriam-snubs-dennis-farina-tom-clancy.html, https://heavy.com/news/2013/07/dennis-farina-dead-dies-died-law-order/. After being transferred to the Los Angeles Police Department's Pacific Division, he was charged with suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon. He played a character named Carl and worked alongside James Caan, James Belushi, and Tuesday Weld. After this, he enlisted in the US Army at the advent of the Vietnam War and subsequently served in that country for the next three years. His father, Joseph, was a doctor while his mother was a homemaker. It presented a continuing storyline over the course of one season rather than being episodic, which was the norm in the 1980s. He studied at St. Michael Central High School and graduated in 1962. Dennis Farina was born on February 29, 1944 (age 69) in the Chicago, Illinois, United States. Dennis Farina. Pleading no contest, Farina was given two years of probation on July 17, 2008. That’s my Dennis Farina story. Some of his old classmates were among those in attendance at the funeral. In 2004, the producers of the television series Law & Order hired him as Detective Joe Fontana; following the departure of longtime cast member Jerry Orbach. He was a character actor, often typecast as a mobster or police officer. This version featured re-edited segments from previous incarnations on NBC, CBS, and Lifetime.[6]. He died on July 22, 2013, in a Scottsdale, Arizona hospital from a pulmonary embolism. On May 11, 2008, Farina was arrested after it was discovered that he had been carrying a loaded .22-caliber pistol through the Los Angeles International Airport security. Farina also played FBI Agent Jack Crawford in the first Hannibal Lecter crime film, Michael Mann's Manhunter. Eventually, he agreed to a plea bargain with the prosecutors. View Dennis Farina’s profile on LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional community. Joe Fontana in 2004 and went on to appear in 46 episodes. His last major television role was in HBO's Luck, which premiered on January 29, 2012. In 1998, he played the titular character in CBS’ short-lived crime drama series ‘Buddy Faro’. He had two granddaughters, Brianna and Olivia, and four grandsons: Michael, Tyler, Matthew and Eric.