Joe Santos

Joe Santos had the face of someone who hadn't slept much and worked a lot. He wasn't a typical leading man, and he never tried to be. In 1931, he was born in Brooklyn as Joseph Anthony Minieri, and that Italian heritage shaped every one of his gestures in front of the camera.

Before landing roles in television, he played football at Fordham University. He also worked construction and sold just about everything on the streets of New York. Then acting crossed his path when he was nearly thirty.

Acting wasn't his first life choice.

In 1971, he appeared in The Panic in Needle Park alongside a young Al Pacino. That detective role put him on the radar of casting directors looking for streetwise tough guys. Santos didn't have to fake the toughness, because he came by it naturally.

The Sergeant Who Didn't Want Trouble

In 1974, he accepted the role that would give him financial stability and global recognition. He played Sergeant Dennis Becker in The Rockford Files. He was the perfect counterpoint to the character of James Garner.

Becker was always on the verge of a nervous breakdown over his detective friend's antics. But he never let him down. The bond between the two actors went beyond the screen and stayed strong until the end of their lives.

Santos appeared in 112 episodes of the original series.

The formula worked so well that he reprised the character in several television films during the 1990s. His portrayal of Becker earned him an Emmy nomination in 1979. It was recognition of an actor who knew how to listen on screen.

Being typecast as a cop didn't bother him, though. By 1973 he had already worked on The Friends of Eddie Coyle, and in 1985 he played another officer in Hardcastle and McCormick. Santos understood that his look was his best working tool.

Returning to His New York Roots

In 2004, he joined the cast of The Sopranos to play Angelo Garepe. He was an old-school mobster who got out of prison after serving a twenty-year sentence. His weary gaze fit perfectly with the twilight tone of the HBO series.

He appeared in seven key episodes of the fifth season. His character helped explain the old code of honor among New York's crime families, and he delivered it with a restraint that intimidated the younger leads.

He was a working actor.

In 1991, he appeared in The Last Boy Scout alongside Bruce Willis. Even in big-budget productions, his presence brought a much-needed dose of realism. He didn't need long speeches for audiences to sense that his character knew the streets well.

He died on March 18, 2016 at a hospital in Santa Monica, two days after suffering a heart attack at his home in Los Angeles. He was 84 years old at the time of his death and left behind a filmography with more than a hundred professional credits. His last on-screen appearance was in the film Chronic, shot in 2015.