James Farentino was an American actor died from a hip fracture he was 73.. He appeared in nearly 100
television,
film and stage roles, among them
The Final Countdown and
Dynasty.
(February 24, 1938 – January 24, 2012)
Career
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Farentino went to local schools followed
later by studying drama and acting in Catholic based schools. In the
1950s and 60s, he went on to stage and a few TV roles. Among his many
television appearances, Farentino guest-starred in 1964 with
Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., in the episode "Super-Star" of the
CBS drama series,
The Reporter, with
Harry Guardino in the starring role of journalist Danny Taylor of the fictitious
New York Globe newspaper. Early in 1967, he appeared in
Barry Sullivan's
NBC western series
The Road West in the episode "Reap the Whirlwind".
In 1969, he starred opposite
Patty Duke in the film
Me, Natalie. Farentino was one of the lawyers in NBC TV series
The Bold Ones (1969–1972), which also starred
Burl Ives and
Joseph Campanella. He made two appearances in the 1970s anthology television series
Night Gallery, once with then-wife
Michele Lee ("Since Aunt Ada Came to Stay"), and secondly with actress
Joanna Pettet ("The Girl With The Hungry Eyes"). In the 1970s, he appeared in an NBC Mystery Movie,
Cool Million. In 1978, Farentino was nominated for an
Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Drama Special for his portrayal of
Saint Peter in the mini-series,
Jesus of Nazareth. He also did the TV film
When No One Would Listen which teamed him one last time with
Michelle Lee.
In 1980, Farentino starred in
The Final Countdown with
Kirk Douglas and
Martin Sheen. Farentino appeared as "Frank Chaney" in the short-lived 1984
ABC series
Blue Thunder, based on the 1983
film of the same name starring
Roy Scheider. (The 11-episode series, which starred a then-unknown
Dana Carvey, was released on
DVD in August 2006.) In 1991 Farentino starred in A cop killed in the line of duty. In the late 1990s, he appeared as
Doug Ross' estranged father, "Ray", on
ER.
Farentino also voiced the character Grungy in the 1994
Aaahh!!! Real Monsters episode “Snorched If You Do, Snorched If You Don’t.”
[1]
Personal life
Farentino was married to:
- Michele Lee (February 20, 1966 – 1982; divorced); one child, David
- Stella Farentino (August 3, 1994 – his death); Stella filed for divorce in 1998 due to "irreconcilable differences,"
but later withdrew her petition. Then, James himself filed for divorce
in January 2001, also due to "irreconcilable differences"; however the
couple remained married until James Farentino's death.
Farentino was charged with
stalking his former girlfriend,
Tina Sinatra (youngest child of
Frank Sinatra) in 1993. A
restraining order was issued against him after he entered a plea of
nolo contendere.
[3]
Farentino was arrested in
Vancouver, British Columbia, on July 23, 1991, after the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police intercepted a package containing 3.2 grams of
cocaine being sent to his
hotel room. Farentino was in town filming the TV movie
Miles From Nowhere. He was
charged with cocaine possession and released on bail.
[4]
In 2010, Farentino was booked on suspicion of misdemeanor
battery after a citizen's arrest was made against the actor.
[5]
Police were called to Farentino's Hollywood home. He was taken into
custody and booked at the Los Angeles Police Department's Hollywood-area
station. Farentino was released two days later after posting $20,000
bond. Police said the actor was trying to physically remove a man from
his house. The man, who police said suffered visible bruising, made a
citizen's arrest on Farentino for battery.
[6]
Death
On January 24, 2012, Farentino died of heart failure at
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in
Los Angeles, California following a long illness.
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