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Reni Santoni 1938 - 2020

Reni Santoni of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California United States was born on April 21, 1938, and died at age 82 years old on August 1, 2020 in Los Angeles.

Reni Santoni

Reinaldo Santoni - at birth only

Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California United States

April 21, 1938

August 1, 2020

Los Angeles, California, United States

Male

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Reni Santoni Reni Santoni (1938 - 2020)

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Reni Santoni's History: 1938 - 2020

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Introduction

Reni Santoni was an American film, television, and voice actor. He was noted for playing Poppie on the television sitcom Seinfeld, Tony Gonzales in Cobra, and Chico González in Dirty Harry. Born: April 21, 1938, New York, NY Died: August 1, 2020, Los Angeles, CA
04/21

1938

Birthday

April 21, 1938

Birthdate

Unknown

Birthplace

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Professional Career

Born April 21, 1938 · Bronx, New York City, New York, USA Died August 1, 2020 · Los Angeles, California, USA (throat and lung cancer) Birth name Reinaldo Santoni Height 6′ 1¼″ (1.86 m) Mini Bio Born Reinaldo Santoni in New York City on April 21, 1938 of French and Spanish heritage, Reni (aka Reni Sands) started his career off in entertainment as a comedy writer. He moved in front of the camera in the early 60s and was performing episodic TV drama ("East Side/West Side," "The Trials of O'Brien," "Hawk") when, out of the blue, director Carl Reiner thought enough of Santoni's talents to cast the young actor, an unknown, in his semi-autobiographical film Enter Laughing (1967). In the make-or-break role of aspiring actor David Kolowitz, Santoni could have hit the jackpot to become a major movie star but unfortunately did not receive stand-out reviews in the still-popular film and never became a name. He played another lead in the Canadian film A Great Big Thing (1968) as a follow-up but nothing came of it. Henceforth, Santoni would be spotted in the supporting capacity in a number of film parts. Santoni offered potent, reliable secondary turns in film playing good guys, bad guys, serious guys and amusing guys alongside such top names as Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry (1971), Steve Martin in Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982), which was again directed by Carl Reiner, Sean Penn in Bad Boys (1983) Richard Pryor in Brewster's Millions (1985), Sylvester Stallone in Cobra (1986) and Gene Hackman in The Package (1989), Howard Stern in Private Parts (1997), and, more recently, Sandra Bullock in 28 Days (2000) and Coolio in Gang Warz (2004). In contrast, he also broke into the voiceover business and provided expert characterizations wherever needed. He offered his vocal skills in Eddie Murphy's Doctor Dolittle (1998) and Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001). His steady career employment, however, has been on the small screen. His 70s series work consisted of ably assisting such crime fighters as "Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law" and "Matt Houston. He was a regular on the short-lived TV series Manimal (1983) and played a Sanchez family member on the TV comedy Sanchez of Bel Air (1986). In addition to playing Father Joe DiMaggio on the series Midnight Caller (1988), he had guest shots on "Scarecrow & Mrs. King," "227," "Hill Street Blues," "Moonlighting," "Miami Vice," "Equal Justice," "Murder, She Wrote" and "Quantum Leap." Decades later Santoni played a recurring role as a judge on the series Murder One (1995) and received great attention for his occasional role as "Poppie" the unsanitary restaurateur on the classic comedy series Seinfeld (1989). Into the millennium, Reni appeared as a guest on such popular TV programs as "According to Jim," "CSI," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Raising the Bar." He made his last appearance on an episode of "Franklin & Bash" in 2012. Reni died of cancer on August 1, 2020. Family Spouses Lisa James (May 19, 1968 - ?) (1 child) Rae Ann Gorman (1 child) Trivia Briefly played professional baseball and originally planned on being a sports journalist. Under Betty Thomas's direction in The Late Shift (1996) and Howard Stern's Private Parts (1997), he portrayed an NBC executive in both films. In The Late Shift (1996), he was an executive for NBC West Coast television operations and, in Private Parts (1997), he was an executive for NBC's New York station. Has one son: Nick. Made his reputation as an actor in off-Broadway revues in which he specialized in portraying oddball characters. He appeared onstage in 'The Mad Show' (from the folks behind Mad Magazine) alongside, among others, Jo Anne Worley and Linda Lavin. He also wrote the off-Broadway play, 'Raisin' Hell in the Son', which premiered in 1962.
08/1

2020

Death

August 1, 2020

Death date

Unknown
Cause of death

Los Angeles, California United States
Death location

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Obituary

Reni Santoni, who played Poppie in “Seinfeld” and appeared in “Dirty Harry” and other films, died on Aug. 1. He was 81. According to a Facebook post by his friend and TV writer-producer Tracy Newman, Santoni died on Saturday morning. He had been “sick for quite a while.” “Those of you who knew him know how funny he was, what a terrific actor, improviser, performer, etc.,” the post read. “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 the past five years or more.” Born in New York City, Santoni built his acting career in off-Broadway theatre, starring in “The Umbrella” and “The Mad Show.” His first significant film role was an uncredited appearance in the 1964 film “The Pawnbroker,” in which he played a junkie trying to sell a radio. His first leading role was in “Enter Laughing” (1967), where he played a delivery boy in New York City. Other film credits include inspector Chico González in “Dirty Harry” (1971), prison official Ramon Herrera in “Bad Boys” (1983), and detective Tony Gonzales in “Cobra” (1986). One of Santoni’s most notable roles was on “Seinfeld” as Poppie, an unhygienic restaurateur. He had a recurring role as one of Arthur Hill’s assistants on the final season of ABC’s “Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law” (1973) and played Daniel in “28 Days” (2000), starring Sandra Bullock. Santoni is survived by his wife and stage director, Lisa James, and son, Nick.

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Reni Santoni lived 9 years longer than the average family member when died at the age of 82.

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