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IMDbPro

Joe Santos(1931-2016)

  • Actor
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
Joe Santos
Home Video Trailer from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Play trailer1:52
Mo' Money (1992)
7 Videos
12 Photos
A Brooklyn-born "working class" actor of Italian descent, character actor Joe Santos started out in life as Joseph John Minieri, Jr. on June 9, 1931. Sadly, his father died on the same day as Joe's birth. His mother Rose (née Sarno) Minieri, who later became a nightclub owner and singer in New York City and Havana, later became the wife of Puerto Rican-born Daniel Santos and the young boy took his stepfather's surname. Reared in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, Santos attended military schools, served with the U.S. Army during the Korean War, and became a football jock at Fordham University. He turned semi-pro at one point before acting on his urges toward drama.

Santos toiled in a number of blue-collar jobs (railroad worker, tree trimmer, cabbie, barkeep) while taking acting classes and searching for work. Debuting with a bit on the TV series "Naked City," the young hopeful found some work in with bit parts in the films Cross-Country Romance (1940) and The Detective (1968) and three of his cousin Joseph W. Sarno's film exploitations -- Flesh and Lace (1965), Moonlighting Wives (1966) and My Body Hungers (1967) -- in the late 1960s, but they lead virtually nowhere.

Joe's first real break came with a featured role as a tough urban in the searing film downer The Panic in Needle Park (1971), brought about thanks to the prodding of his friend and star of the film, the up-and-coming Al Pacino, who had played some softball with Santos. This was followed by a couple of featured roles in the "blaxploitation" flicks The Legend of Nigger Charley (1972) and Shaft's Big Score! (1972). A prime role as a sympathetic sergeant in the acclaimed TV mini-series The Blue Knight (1973) led Santos in the direction of primarily "good cop" parts on such urban crime shows, including "Toma," "Barnaby Jones," The Streets of San Francisco," "Baretta," "Joe Forrester" and several episodes of the anthology series "Police Story." The most noteworthy, however, was the long-running role as James Garner's beleaguered, long-suffering friend and contact, Lt. Dennis Becker, on the series The Rockford Files (1974) for which he earned an Emmy nomination in 1979.

Joe also provided strong, atmospheric support in 70's urban crime films for such stars as Burt Reynolds in Shamus (1973); Robert Mitchum in The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973); Anthony Quinn in The Don Is Dead (1973); and John Marley in Blade (1973).

Following the "Rockford" success, the beefy, balding Santos moved into a lighter 80's vein, first as a divorced dad at odds with raising an 11-year-old daughter in the short-lived (10 episode) sitcom Me and Maxx (1980) and as comedian Paul Rodriguez's dad in the even briefer (6 episode) comedy series a.k.a. Pablo (1984). In addition, he found guest parts in "Trapper John," "Hill Street Blues," The 'A' Team," "Remington Steele," "T.J. Hooker," "The New Twilight Zone," and a recurring role as Lt. Harper on Hardcastle and McCormick (1983), as well as brief running part on the daytime soap Santa Barbara (1984) and several returning "Rockford" TV movies, again with James Garner between 1994-1999.

Into the millennium, Santos received strong, deserved notice in 2004 for his recurring role as "Consigliere Angelo Garepe" in the hit man hit series The Sopranos (1999). Following roles in the films Auggie Rose (2000), Hammerlock (2000), Proximity (2001) and The Man from Elysian Fields (2001), he was little seen, but did return for an isolated film appearance in his final movie Chronic (2015) starring Tim Roth as a home care nurse for the terminally ill.

Joe also dabbled in play-writing, having penned "Sunset Normandie", in which he also starred. Married to longtime Cuban wife Maria Montero until her death in 1988, Santos died in Santa Monica, California, at the age of 84 on March 18, 2016, a few days after suffering a heart attack. He was survived by three children: Perry, Joe Jr. and Lili.
BornJune 9, 1931
DiedMarch 18, 2016(84)
BornJune 9, 1931
DiedMarch 18, 2016(84)
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
  • Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy

Photos12

James Garner, Stuart Margolin, and Joe Santos in America's Top Sleuths (2006)
David Cassidy and Joe Santos in David Cassidy - Man Undercover (1978)
Joe Santos in The Panic in Needle Park (1971)
Tom Selleck and Joe Santos in Magnum, P.I. (1980)
Steve Buscemi and Joe Santos in The Sopranos (1999)
James Garner and Joe Santos in The Rockford Files (1974)
James Garner and Joe Santos in The Rockford Files (1974)
James Garner and Joe Santos in The Rockford Files (1974)
Joe Santos
Robert De Niro, Jerry Orbach, Joe Santos, and Irving Selbst in The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (1971)
Robert De Niro, Jerry Orbach, Joe Santos, and Irving Selbst in The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (1971)

Known for

The Rockford Files (1974)
The Rockford Files
8.2
TV Series
  • Dennis Becker
Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans in The Last Boy Scout (1991)
The Last Boy Scout
7.0
  • Bessalo
  • 1991
Kevin Costner in The Postman (1997)
The Postman
6.1
  • Colonel Getty
  • 1997
Lorraine Bracco, James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Steven Van Zandt, Dominic Chianese, Robert Iler, Michael Imperioli, Vincent Pastore, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, and Tony Sirico in The Sopranos (1999)
The Sopranos
9.2
TV Series
  • Angelo Garepe

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Tim Roth and Michael Cristofer in Chronic (2015)
    Chronic
  • Lorraine Bracco, James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Steven Van Zandt, Dominic Chianese, Robert Iler, Michael Imperioli, Vincent Pastore, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, and Tony Sirico in The Sopranos (1999)
    The Sopranos
  • James Coburn, Andy Garcia, Julianna Margulies, Mick Jagger, and Olivia Williams in The Man from Elysian Fields (2001)
    The Man from Elysian Fields
  • Proximity (2001)
    Proximity
  • Hammerlock (2000)
    Hammerlock
  • Auggie Rose (2000)
    Auggie Rose
  • The Rockford Files: If It Bleeds... It Leads (1999)
    The Rockford Files: If It Bleeds... It Leads
  • The Right Way (1998)
    The Right Way
  • Kevin Costner in The Postman (1997)
    The Postman
  • The Rockford Files: Shoot-Out at the Golden Pagoda (1997)
    The Rockford Files: Shoot-Out at the Golden Pagoda
  • The Rockford Files: Punishment and Crime (1996)
    The Rockford Files: Punishment and Crime
  • James Luisi in The Rockford Files: Friends and Foul Play (1996)
    The Rockford Files: Friends and Foul Play
  • The Rockford Files: Godfather Knows Best (1996)
    The Rockford Files: Godfather Knows Best
  • The Rockford Files: If the Frame Fits... (1996)
    The Rockford Files: If the Frame Fits...
  • The Rockford Files: A Blessing in Disguise (1995)
    The Rockford Files: A Blessing in Disguise

Videos7

The Friends of Eddie Coyle
Clip 1:28
The Friends of Eddie Coyle
Season 1 Trailer
Trailer 1:33
Season 1 Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 2:54
Trailer
Hardcastle and McCormick Trailer - Season 1
Trailer 0:32
Hardcastle and McCormick Trailer - Season 1
Mo' Money
Trailer 1:52
Mo' Money
Mo' Money
Trailer 1:59
Mo' Money
Rockford Files: Season 6 The
Trailer 0:46
Rockford Files: Season 6 The

Personal details

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    • June 9, 1931
    • Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
    • March 18, 2016
    • Santa Monica, California, USA(heart attack)
    • March 31, 1958 - August 27, 1988 (her death, 3 children)
  • Stage: Wrote / appeared in "Sunset Normandie".
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Article

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    Cousin of director Joseph W. Sarno.

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