Richard Romanus, Mean Streets and The Sopranos star, dies at 80

Richard Romanus, the actor best known for starring as loan shark Michael Longo in the 1973 crime film Mean Streets, has died. He was 80. 

The actor died Dec. 23 at a private hospital in Volos, Greece, his son, Robert, told The Hollywood Reporter.

After graduating from Xavier University in 1964, Romanus enrolled in law school before dropping out and moving to New York City to take drama classes with Lee Strasberg at the legendary Actors Studio. He made his big-screen debut in the 1968 horror film The Ghastly Ones alongside Veronica Rayburn, Hal Borske, and Maggie Rogers.

After spotlight appearances on several television shows, Romanus found success as Michael, a moneylender whom Robert de Niro’s character publicly ridicules in Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets. In 1981, he became a series regular on the ABC crime series Strike Force as Det. Lt. Charlie Gunzer until its cancellation the following year. 

Romanus went on to have a prolific television career, starring on several popular shows, including Mission: Impossible, Kojak, Charlie’s Angels, Starsky & Hutch, Hawaii Five-O, The Rockford Files, Fame, Hill Street Blues, MacGyver, The A-Team, Chicago Hope, Diagnosis Murder, Cagney & Lacey, and NYPD Blue. The actor also had a memorable turn as Richard La Penna, the on-again, off-again husband of Dr. Melfi (Lorraine Bracco) on The Sopranos from 1999 until 2002. 

In addition to his appearances on screen, Romanus lent his voice to several animated films, playing cab driver Harry Canyon in 1981’s Heavy Metal, Weehawk in Ralph Bakshi’s Wizards, and Vinnie in Bakshi’s Hey Good Lookin’. His final film, The Young Black Stallion, was released in 2003. 

Romanus married his second wife, Oscar-nominated costume designer Anthea Sylbert, in 1985. The pair went on to write and produce two Lifetime films, 1998’s Giving Up the Ghost and 1999’s If You Believe, the latter of which was nominated for a Writers Guild of America award. The couple moved to the Greek island of Skiathos in 2004, where Romanus wrote a series of books, including 2011’s Chrysalis, 2013’s Sketches of Skiathos, and 2014’s Matoula's Echo. He also wrote a memoir, Act III, in 2012.

Romanus is survived by his wife, his son, and his brother Robert Romanus, who starred as Mike Damone in the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High. 

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