Richard Romanus (born Richard Joseph Romanos; February 8, 1943 – December 23, 2023) was an American actor. He appeared in Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets and provided voices for Ralph Bakshi's animated films Wizards and Hey Good Lookin'. He played Richard La Penna, Jennifer Melfi's ex-husband, later husband again, in four episodes of The Sopranos from 1999 to 2002. In 1999, he co-wrote the Christmas film If You Believe along with his wife Anthea Sylbert, which was nominated by the Writers Guild of America TV Award for Original Long Form.[not verified in body]
Richard Romanus | |
|---|---|
 Publicity Photo of Richard Romanus | |
| Born | Richard Joseph Romanos[1] February 8, 1943 Barre, Vermont, U.S. |
| Died | December 23, 2023 (aged 80) Volos, Greece |
| Occupations | Actor, writer, screenwriter, songwriter |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 1 |
| Relatives | Robert Romanus (brother) |
| Awards | Best Original Screenplay in Longform Television by the Writers Guild of America (nominated) |
Personal life
editRomanus was born in Barre, Vermont, the son of Eileen (née Maloof) and Dr. Raymond Romanos, a dentist. He was of Lebanese descent.[2] Romanus grew up Catholic.[3][4] He lived in West Hartford, Connecticut, and in 1964 graduated from Xavier University with a bachelor's in philosophy, before studying acting with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio in New York.[5] His younger brother Robert Romanus is also an actor. They both appeared in the MacGyver episode "The Prodigal" in 1985.[6] On May 20, 1967, he married Tina Bohlmann; they had a son before divorcing in 1980.[citation needed]
Romanus was married to Oscar-nominated costume designer Anthea Sylbert from August 1985 until his death.[7] In 2004, they moved to the Greek island of Skiathos,[8] after which he focused on writing.[9] In 2011, he published his memoirs, Act III (Aiora Press, Athens, and Armida Publications, Nicosia), and first novel, Chrysalis (Armida Publications).[10] In 2012, Act III was short-listed for the International Rubery Book Award.[citation needed]
Romanus died in Volos, Greece, on December 23, 2023, at the age of 80.[11][7]
Filmography
editThis is a list of films that have featured Richard Romanus.[12]
Films
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | The Ghastly Ones | Don | |
| 1973 | Mean Streets | Michael | |
| 1974 | The Gravy Train | Carlo | |
| 1975 | Russian Roulette | Ragulia | |
| 1976 | Tracks | Porter | |
| 1977 | Wizards | Weehawk | |
| 1980 | Sitting Ducks | Joe 'Moose Joe' Mastaki | |
| 1981 | Heavy Metal | Harry Canyon | |
| 1982 | Pandemonium | Jarrett | |
| Hey Good Lookin' | Vinnie | ||
| 1983 | Strangers Kiss | Frank Silva | |
| 1984 | Protocol | The Emir | |
| 1986 | Murphy's Law | Frank Vincenzo | |
| 1988 | The Couch Trip | Harvey Michaels | |
| 1991 | Oscar | Vendetti | |
| 1993 | Point of No Return | Fahd Bahktiar | |
| 1994 | Cops & Robbersons | Fred Lutz | |
| 2001 | Nailed | Uncle Robert | |
| 2003 | The Young Black Stallion | Ben Ishak |
Television (partial)
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Mission: Impossible | Guard | Episode: "Giatano" |
| 1970–1971 | The Mod Squad | Paco Montoya/Aurelio | 2 episodes |
| 1974 | Rhoda | Luis Alvarez | Episode: "9-E is Available" |
| Kojak | Detective Sam Calucci | Episode: "The Betrayal" | |
| 1977 | Night Terror | The Killer | TV movie |
| Charlie's Angels | Roy David | Episode: "The Big Tap-Out" | |
| Starsky & Hutch | 'Sonny' Watson | Episode: "Huggy Bear and the Turkey" | |
| 1978 | Rockford Files | Sean Innes | Episode: "Three Day Affair with a Thirty Day Escrow" |
| Hawaii Five-O | Johnny Noah | Episode: "Small Potatoes" | |
| 1979 | Gold of the Amazon Women | Luis Escobar | TV movie |
| 1980 | Hart to Hart | Marty Benton | Episode: "This Lady is Murder" |
| 1981-1982 | Strike Force | Lieutenant Charlie Gunzer | |
| 1981 | Fantasy Island | Robert Luria | Segment: "The Perfect Husband" |
| Foul Play | Captain Jakoby/Captain Vito Lombardi | ||
| 1982 | Matt Houston | Prince Fahad Ibn Hasim | Episode: "The Kidnapping" |
| 1983 | Hardcastle and McCormick | Freddie Kane | Episode: "The Boxer" |
| 1983-1987 | Cagney & Lacey | Hassan bin Moqtadi/Det. Sal Caprio | 2 episodes |
| 1983-1986 | The A-Team | Tommy Tedesco/Jackie Martell | |
| 1984 | Hunter | Nathan "Nate" Demarest | Episode: "High Bleacher Man" |
| Second Sight: A Love Story | Dr. Ross Harkin | TV movie | |
| 1985 | Tales from the Darkside | Frank Bigalow | Episode: "Bigalow's Last Smoke" |
| Fame | Joe Garver | Episode: "Tomorrow's Children" | |
| 1985-1986 | MacGyver | James Crowe/Joey Bennett | 2 episodes |
| 1986 | Hill Street Blues | Captain Bob Ajanian | |
| 1989 | Midnight Caller | Maurice Maxwell | Episode: "Trash Radio" |
| Mission Impossible | Arthur Six | Episode: "The Fixer" | |
| 1991 | Jake and the Fatman | Harry Rendel | Episode: "Street of Dreams" |
| 1992 | Reasonable Doubts | Donovan Black | Episode: "Silence" |
| 1993 | Johnny Bago | Vinnie | 4 episodes |
| 1994 | Chicago Hope | Anthony Travelli | Episode: "With the Greatest of Ease" |
| 1995 | Northern Exposure | Lowell Grippo | Episode: "Little Italy" |
| Charlie Grace | Rudy Novak | Episode: "One Simple Little Favour" | |
| 1996 | Diagnosis: Murder | Dr. Ed Quiller | Episode: "Misdiagnosis Murder" |
| NYPD Blue | Carmine Del Marco | Episode: "A Tushful of Dollars" | |
| 1999 | If You Believe | Walter | TV movie |
| 1999-2002 | The Sopranos | Richard La Penna | 4 episodes |
Bibliography
edit- Act III, 2011 (Aiora Press, Athens, and Armida Publications, Nicosia)
- Chrysalis, 2011 (Armida Publications, Nicosia)
Awards and nominations
edit- 1999 – Best Original Screenplay in Long Form Television - Writers Guild of America (nominated)[7]
- 2012 – Short-listed for the International Rubery Book Award for Act III[13]
References
edit- ↑ "Richard Joseph Romanos : Vermont, Vital Records". FamilySearch. Archived from the original on April 14, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
- ↑ Hammer, Joshua (2016-03-14). "Outraged Arab-Americans Charge That Goldie Hawn's New Film Violates the Rules of Protocol". People.com. Retrieved 2016-03-20.
- ↑ "Eileen Maloof Romanos - View Obituary & Service Information".
- ↑ "Richard Romanus Biography (1943-)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- ↑ Xavier University. "Profile: Richard Romanus | Xavier Magazine". Xtra.xavier.edu. Retrieved 2016-03-20.
- ↑ IMDb. "MacGyver: The Prodigal". IMDB.com. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
- 1 2 3 Barnes, Mike (30 December 2023). "Richard Romanus, Actor in 'Mean Streets,' Dies at 80". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2023-12-30. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
- ↑ Travis, Emlyn (2023-12-31). "Richard Romanus, 'Mean Streets' and 'The Sopranos' star, dies at 80". EW.com. Archived from the original on 2023-12-31. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
- ↑ "Skiathos offers honorary citizenship to Hollywood's Richard Romanus and Anthea Sylbert, in ceremony that also brings Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell". Greek City Times. 2021-06-28. Archived from the original on 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
- ↑ "inauthor:"Richard Romanus" - Google Search". Archived from the original on 2024-01-08. Retrieved 2025-02-27.
- ↑ "Πέθανε ο ηθοποιός Richard Romanus - Ζούσε μόνιμα στην Σκιάθο" (in Greek). 2023-12-27. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
- ↑ "Richard Romanus". IMDb. Retrieved 20 March 2016.[unreliable source?]
- ↑ "Previous winners". Archived from the original on July 5, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2012.[better source needed]
External links
edit- Richard Romanus at IMDb
- High School Yearbook Picture of Richard and Robert Romanos Archived 2017-09-14 at the Wayback Machine