Prolific actor Reni Santoni, who teamed up with Clint Eastwood on “Dirty Harry” and Sylvester Stallone on “Cobra,” and who Poppie the pizzaiolo in “Seinfeld”, died at age 81.
Santoni died Saturday in the hospital after a long illness, she said screenwriter and TVmaker Tracy Newman about her lifelong friend.
“Reni Santoni passed away in the morning,” Newman wrote in a tribute on Facebook. “He had been ill for quite some time. Those of you who knew him know how funny he was, how much he was an actor, improviser, wonderful performer, etc. So brilliant. I really enjoyed it and I’ll miss him terribly. He’s gone. “
Santoni best known for his appearance in “Harry the Dirty” in 1971 as rookie detective and senior detective in university sociology Chico Martinez, who teamed up with Eastwood’s “Dirty Harry”. The collaboration with the police came despite Callahan’s objections (“Just what I needed, a school student”).
Santoni uttered the famous word about his abusive partner: “No, they call him ‘Dirty Harry’, (he) still has the tip (swearing) of the stick.”
Director Edgar Wright paid tribute to the line and the character on Twitter by writing “RIP Reni Santoni”.
In 1986’s “Cobra,” Santoni played Sgt. Tony Gonzales, who pairs up with Stallone’s Lieutenant Marion Cobretti in a style (played Brigitte Nielsen, Stallone’s genuine wife) from the killer “Night Slasher”.
On television “Seinfeld”, Santoni played Poppie, owner of a place to eat, a discussion, who overcame her hygiene problems in the bathroom but had apparent bladder disorders. In the 1994 episode “The Couch”, Poppie peed remarkably while sitting on Seinfeld’s new couch, prompting the remarkable exclamation, “Poppie urinated on my couch!”
Born on April 21, 1939 in New York, Santoni made minor appearances as an actor as early as 1962. He caught the attention of director Carl Reiner, who caught the unknown actor to star in his 1967 semi-autobiographical film “Enter Laughing”. Santoni played New York deliveryman David Kolowitz, who dreams of starring in films.
Reiner and Santoni worked together in 1982 for “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid”, starring Steve Martin.
Santoni has made television appearances, adding Sgt. John Castle in “Hardcastle and McCormick” and Lieutenant Rivera in “Manimal”, as well as guest star roles in “Hawaii Five-O”, “Hill Street Blues”, “NYPD Blue” and “Miami Vice”.
While playing cops, crime lords or judges, Newman says he was more productive known among his friends as the funniest guy in the room. Santoni made common appearances in the 1970s name “The Merv Griffin Show”.
“Merv had it all the time on screen because Reni was so much fun,” Says Newman. “I bet all those tough guys, but when Reni came into a party, all his friends would say, “This is the party.” Ed Begley Jr. used to call him the funniest guy in the screen world.”
Santoni leaves his son Nick, who, according to Newman, was “the gentile of his life.”