Former Chicago cop turned actor Dennis Farina has passed away due to a blood clot on his lung. He was 69. While remembered most recently from his stint on Law & Order, and as Nick’s dad on New Girl, he also starred in one of my fave TV series of all time: Michael Mann’s Crime Story.
Way before Mad Men was a gleam in Matthew Weiner’s eye, Crime Story was a gorgeously shot police series set in early 1960s Chicago, featuring Farina as Lt. Mike Torello and his battles with mobster Ray Luca (Anthony Denison). It ran from 1986-88, and while later episodes became too cartoony for my tastes, you’d still be hard-pressed to find a more exciting, violent, and atmospheric cop show. Here’s a great elongated scene about a department store robbery filled with the sort of hard-boiled tension Crime Story was famous for. And Farina, unsurprisingly, is at the top of his game.
I remember liking Crime Story too, but the one scene I remember most was actually a music scene. Dennis goes into a club for some reason, and who is playing music on stage but Miles Davis and his band! Fucking Miles Davis! Don’t get stuff like that anymore on TV.
He was great in his smallish part in Snatch.
I liked it in Get Shorty when the doorbell interrupts him while he’s dumping out. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!!!!