Reni Santoni
Encyclopedia
Reni Santoni is an American film, television and voice actor.
Santoni was born in New York City
of French
and Spanish
descent.
He began his career in off-Broadway
theatre. His first significant film role was an uncredited appearance in the 1964 film The Pawnbroker
, starring Rod Steiger
, in which he played a junkie
trying to sell a radio to the title character, using anti-Semitic slurs that have absolutely no effect.
Santoni's first leading role was as the young actor in Carl Reiner's Enter Laughing
. His other well-known film roles include Inspector "Chico" González in the 1971 classic Dirty Harry
, as Ramon Herrera in the 1983 hit drama Bad Boys
and as detective Tony Gonzales in 1986 action film Cobra. Around that time he also made guest appearances on television shows such as Barnaby Jones
, Lou Grant
, Hawaii Five-O
, Hardcastle and McCormick
,
Hill Street Blues
and Midnight Caller
. In 1973 he was a junior partner on, "Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law". (Santoni and "Owen Marshall" co-star Lee Majors were born the same week in April 1939).
Santoni continues to work in film and television to the present day. Some of his more memorable characterizations include "Poppie," the unhygienic restaurateur on TV's Seinfeld
, and "Captain Carlos Rodríguez" in Carl Reiner
's comedy film Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
.
Santoni was born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
of French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
descent.
He began his career in off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
theatre. His first significant film role was an uncredited appearance in the 1964 film The Pawnbroker
The Pawnbroker (film)
The Pawnbroker is a 1964 drama film, starring Rod Steiger, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Brock Peters and Jaime Sánchez and directed by Sidney Lumet. It was adapted by Morton S. Fine and David Friedkin from the novel of the same name by Edward Lewis Wallant....
, starring Rod Steiger
Rod Steiger
Rodney Stephen "Rod" Steiger was an Academy Award-winning American actor known for his performances in such films as On the Waterfront, The Big Knife, Oklahoma!, The Harder They Fall, Across the Bridge, The Pawnbroker, Doctor Zhivago, In the Heat of the Night, and Waterloo as well as the...
, in which he played a junkie
Substance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
trying to sell a radio to the title character, using anti-Semitic slurs that have absolutely no effect.
Santoni's first leading role was as the young actor in Carl Reiner's Enter Laughing
Enter Laughing (film)
Enter Laughing is a 1967 comedy film, directed by Carl Reiner, based on his autobiographical novel and the stage play of the same name.The film stars Jose Ferrer, Shelly Winters and Elaine May...
. His other well-known film roles include Inspector "Chico" González in the 1971 classic Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry is a 1971 American crime thriller produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the Dirty Harry series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan....
, as Ramon Herrera in the 1983 hit drama Bad Boys
Bad Boys (1983 film)
Bad Boys is a 1983 American crime drama film primarily set in a juvenile detention center, starring Sean Penn, Esai Morales, and Ally Sheedy in her film debut. The film is directed by Rick Rosenthal. The original music score was composed by Bill Conti....
and as detective Tony Gonzales in 1986 action film Cobra. Around that time he also made guest appearances on television shows such as Barnaby Jones
Barnaby Jones
Barnaby Jones is a television detective series starring Buddy Ebsen and Lee Meriwether as father- and daughter-in-law who run a private detective firm in Los Angeles. A spin-off from Cannon, the show ran on CBS from January 28, 1973 to April 3, 1980, beginning as a midseason replacement...
, Lou Grant
Lou Grant (TV series)
Lou Grant is an American television drama series starring Ed Asner in the titular role as a newspaper editor. Unusual in American television, this drama series was a spinoff from a sitcom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Aired from 1977 to 1982, Lou Grant won 13 Emmy Awards, including "Outstanding Drama...
, Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for twelve seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. The show featured a fictional state police unit run by Detective Steve McGarrett,...
, Hardcastle and McCormick
Hardcastle and McCormick
Hardcastle and McCormick is a 1980s action/drama television series from Stephen J. Cannell Productions, shown on ABC from 1983–1986, starring Brian Keith as Judge Milton C. Hardcastle and Daniel Hugh Kelly as ex-con and race car driver Mark "Skid" McCormick.The show's premise involves the...
,
Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues is an American serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. Chronicling the lives of the staff of a single police precinct in an unnamed American city, the show received critical acclaim and its production innovations ...
and Midnight Caller
Midnight Caller
Midnight Caller is a dramatic NBC television series created by Richard DiLello, which ran from 1988 to 1991. It was one of the first television series to address the dramatic possibilities of the then-growing phenomenon of talk radio...
. In 1973 he was a junior partner on, "Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law". (Santoni and "Owen Marshall" co-star Lee Majors were born the same week in April 1939).
Santoni continues to work in film and television to the present day. Some of his more memorable characterizations include "Poppie," the unhygienic restaurateur on TV's Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
, and "Captain Carlos Rodríguez" in Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner is an American actor, film director, producer, writer and comedian. He has won nine Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award during this career...
's comedy film Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid is a 1982 comedy film directed by Carl Reiner and starring Steve Martin and Rachel Ward. It is both a parody of, and an homage to, film noir and the pulp detective movies of the 1940s....
.
Filmography
- Strangers in the City (1962)
- The PawnbrokerThe Pawnbroker (film)The Pawnbroker is a 1964 drama film, starring Rod Steiger, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Brock Peters and Jaime Sánchez and directed by Sidney Lumet. It was adapted by Morton S. Fine and David Friedkin from the novel of the same name by Edward Lewis Wallant....
(1964) - Enter LaughingEnter Laughing (film)Enter Laughing is a 1967 comedy film, directed by Carl Reiner, based on his autobiographical novel and the stage play of the same name.The film stars Jose Ferrer, Shelly Winters and Elaine May...
(1967) - AnzioAnzioAnzio is a city and comune on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome.Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands of Ponza, Palmarola and Ventotene...
(1968) - Guns of the Magnificent SevenGuns of the Magnificent SevenGuns of the Magnificent Seven is a Zapata Western and the second sequel to the 1960 western film, The Magnificent Seven ....
(1969) - Dirty HarryDirty HarryDirty Harry is a 1971 American crime thriller produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the Dirty Harry series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan....
(1971) - They Went That-A-Way & That-A-WayThey Went That-A-Way & That-A-WayThey Went That-A-Way & That-A-Way is a 1978 slapstick comedy film written by and starring Tim Conway.-Plot summary:Dewey and Wallace are small-town lawmen who are ordered by the governor to go undercover as prison inmates to find out where a gang of thieves have hidden their loot...
(1978) - Dead Men Don't Wear PlaidDead Men Don't Wear PlaidDead Men Don't Wear Plaid is a 1982 comedy film directed by Carl Reiner and starring Steve Martin and Rachel Ward. It is both a parody of, and an homage to, film noir and the pulp detective movies of the 1940s....
(1982) - Bad BoysBad Boys (1983 film)Bad Boys is a 1983 American crime drama film primarily set in a juvenile detention center, starring Sean Penn, Esai Morales, and Ally Sheedy in her film debut. The film is directed by Rick Rosenthal. The original music score was composed by Bill Conti....
(1983) - Brewster's MillionsBrewster's Millions (1985 film)Brewster's Millions is a 1985 comedy film starring Richard Pryor and John Candy based on the 1902 novel of the same name by George Barr McCutcheon. It is the seventh film based on the story, with a screenplay by Herschel Weingrod & Timothy Harris...
(1985) - Radioactive DreamsRadioactive DreamsRadioactive Dreams is a 1985 post-apocalyptic science fiction-comedy film. The film was directed by Albert Pyun, and stars Michael Dudikoff, Don Murray, and Lisa Blount...
(1985) - Cobra (1986)
- The Pick-up ArtistThe Pick-up Artist (film)The Pick-up Artist is a 1987 American film written and directed by James Toback. This romantic comedy starred Molly Ringwald and Robert Downey Jr. It was rated PG-13 by the MPAA.-Plot:...
(1987) - Bright Lights, Big CityBright Lights, Big City (film)Bright Lights, Big City is a 1988 drama film starring Michael J. Fox, Kiefer Sutherland and Phoebe Cates, based on the novel of the same name by Jay McInerney. It was the last film directed by James Bridges before his death in 1993.-Plot:...
(1988) (voice) - The Package (1989)
- The Brady Bunch MovieThe Brady Bunch MovieThe Brady Bunch Movie is a 1995 American comedy film based on the 1969–1974 television series The Brady Bunch.The film features all the original regular characters, all played by new actors...
(1995) - The Late ShiftThe Late ShiftThe Late Shift: Letterman, Leno, & the Network Battle for the Night is a 1994 non-fiction book written by The New York Times media reporter Bill Carter. It chronicles the early 1990s conflict surrounding the American late-night talk show The Tonight Show...
(1996) - Private PartsPrivate Parts (1997 film)Private Parts is a 1997 American biographical comedy film produced by Ivan Reitman and released by Paramount Pictures. Written by Len Blum and Michael Kalesniko, the film is an adaptation of the 1993 best-selling book of the same name by radio personality Howard Stern, who stars as himself. It...
(1997) - Dr. DolittleDr. Dolittle (film)Dr. Dolittle is a 1998 American family comedy film starring Eddie Murphy as a doctor who discovers that he has the ability to talk to animals...
(1998) (voice) - Can't Hardly WaitCan't Hardly WaitCan't Hardly Wait is a 1998 American teen comedy film written and directed by Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont. It stars Ethan Embry, Charlie Korsmo, Lauren Ambrose, Peter Facinelli, Seth Green, and Jennifer Love Hewitt, and is notable for a number of "before-they-were-famous" appearances by various...
(1998) - 28 Days28 Days (film)28 Days is a 2000 American drama film directed by Betty Thomas. Sandra Bullock plays Gwen Cummings, a newspaper columnist obliged to enter rehabilitation for alcoholism. The film costars Viggo Mortensen, Dominic West, Elizabeth Perkins, Steve Buscemi and Diane Ladd.-Plot:Gwen Cummings borrows the...
(2000) - Dr. Dolittle 2Dr. Dolittle 2Dr. Dolittle 2 is a 2001 American comedy film, and the theatrical sequel to the 1998 film Dr. Dolittle. The continuing tale of the doctor who can talk to the animals—this time, it's Dolittle versus Darwin when the animals launch a labor strike to protect their forest from unscrupulous human...
(2001) (voice) - Kingpin (2003) (mini series)
- Gang Warz (2004)
- Double Tap (2006)
- Irene in TimeIrene in TimeIrene in Time is a 2009 American indie film directed by Henry Jaglom. It marked the second collaboration between director Jaglom and his protégé, actress Tanna Frederick, who also starred in Hollywood Dreams, Jaglom's 2006 film. Irene also starred Victoria Tennant, Lanre Idewu, and Andrea...
(2009)