Richard Romanus, who built his career as a character actor playing tough guys in film and television, has died at the age of 80 in a hospital in Volos, Greece. His son Robert gave no reason.
Romanus has had a number of memorable roles throughout his long career. He was Harry Canyon, Heavy Metal's taxi driver, and Richard LaPenna, Dr. Melfi, in “The Sopranos.” He was loan shark Michael Longo in Mean Streets.
His TV resume includes Mission: Impossible, Starsky and Hutch, Hawaii Five-0, The Rockford Files, Kojak, Strike Force and more from the '70s.
In films, Romanus appeared in Sitting Ducks (1980), Protocol (1984), The Couch Trip (1988), Oscar (1991), Point of No Return (1993), Cops and Robbersons (1994), Nailed (2001) and The Young Black Stallion (2003).
In his later years, Romanus and his wife moved to the Greek city of Skiathos, and he wrote about the experience in Act Three: A Small Island in the Aegean, published in 2011. He also authored two novels set in the country, 2011's Chrysalis and 2014's Matoulas Echo.
The pair wrote and produced two Lifetime television movies, 1998's “Giving Up the Ghost” and 1999's “If You Believe” (the latter a WGA nomination).
Survivors include his second wife, Oscar-nominated costume designer Anthea Sylbert (“Rosemary's Baby,” “Chinatown,” “Julia”), whom he married in August 1985; a son, Robert; and younger brother Robert Romanus, who played Mike Damone in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.