Reni Santoni, best known for his roles in "Dirty Harry" and "Seinfeld," has died at age 81. The actor spent several months in hospice care in Los Angeles before passing away on Saturday from natural causes, his friend Tracy Newman told People on Monday.
"He had been sick for quite a while," Newman wrote in a Facebook post. "Those of you who knew him know how funny he was, what a terrific actor, improviser, performer, etc. So brilliant. I loved him very much and will miss him terribly. Another great one is gone. I have a lot of wonderful pictures of him, and will post them over the next week. My heart goes out to his son, Nick, who has been such a comfort to Reni over that past five years or more."
Santoni started out as a comedy writer before transitioning over to TV in the early 1960s. His appearances in various TV dramas lead to him being cast in his first major film, "Enter Laughing," in 1967, according to IMDB. The movie helped launch his career.
Santoni went on to star in dozens of films. He worked alongside Clint Eastwood in "Dirty Harry" (1979), Sean Penn in the 1983 film "Bad Boys," Sylvester Stallone in "Cobra" (1986) and Gene Hackman in "The Package" (1989).
Santoni also carved a career for himself on the small screen with his most notable role in "Seinfeld." He guest-starred in four episodes of the sitcom as Poppie the pizza chef. The actor also made appearances in "Hawaii Five-O," "Hill Street Blues," "NYPD Blue" and "Miami Vice."
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