'Dirty Harry' actor Reni Santoni passes away at 81; writer Tracy Newman confirms news

American film actor, Reni Santoni, who is best known for his work in the Dirty Harry, passed away at the age of 81 on Saturday in Los Angeles. Reportedly, Reni Santoni was under hospice care due to many years of health trouble. The news was confirmed by Reni Santoni’s friend and TV writer-producer Tracy Newman, as she took to her Facebook handle to pen a note for the late actor. Take a look at what Tracy wrote:

Tracy Newman's statement:

“Reni Santoni passed away yesterday morning. April 21, 1939-August 1, 2020. He had been sick for quite a while. Those of you who knew him to know how funny he was, what a terrific actor, improviser, performer, etc. So brilliant. I loved him very much and will miss him terribly. Another great one is gone. I have a lot of wonderful pictures of him and will post them over the next week. My heart goes out to his son, Nick, who has been such a comfort to Reni over that past five years or more.”

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Tracy's post: 

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Reni Santoni is survived by his wife and stage director, Lisa James, and son, Nick. In June, Reni's Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid director Carl Reiner, aged 98, breathed his last due to natural causes, as confirmed by the actor’s assistant, Judy Nagy. Judy confirmed that Reiner passed away on Monday on June 29, 2020, in Beverly Hills home in California. Carl Reiner’s elder son Rob Reiner took to his Twitter handle to mourn his father’s loss and mentioned that the actor was his ‘guiding light’. 

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Reni's work:

Born in New York City to a family of French and Spanish descent, Reni Santoni kickstarted his career in Off-Broadway theatre, when he played the lead character, Nick Rivera, in the much-loved series, Manimal. The actor rose to prominence with his performance in the much-loved 1964 film, The Pawnbroker, which features him playing a junkie and trying to sell a radio to the title character. Reni Santoni went on to work in movies like Enter Laughing, Dirty Harry, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, Bad Boys and  Cobra. The actor also dipped his toes in television with hit shows like Barnaby Jones, Lou Grant, Hawaii Five-O, Hardcastle and McCormick, Hill Street Blues, The Odd Couple and Midnight Caller. The actor was last seen in the 2009 film, Irene in Time.

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