Jon Polito obit

R.I.P. Jon Polito, a favorite of the Coen brothers

He was not on the list.

Jon Polito, the mustachioed, raspy-voiced character actor who squeezed both humor and surprising pathos from the many mobster and cop roles he played—most memorably for the Coen brothers—has died. The news was passed along by Polito’s friend, filmmaker John McNaughton, who directed Polito in the early episodes of Homicide: Life On The Street where Polito first earned attention as the pugnacious, philosophical Detective Steve Crosetti, as well as in the anthology series Masters Of Horror. No official cause of death has been given, though Polito was diagnosed with incurable blood cancer in 2010. Polito was 65.

Providing a comprehensive overview of Polito’s incredibly prolific, 35-year career would be an impossible task; his work stretched from off Broadway to Broadway to cop dramas to sitcoms to short films to arthouse indies to big-budget family films to cartoon voiceovers, encompassing more than 200 credits. Anyway, there is IMDb and Wikipedia for that, while our own Nathan Rabin barely scratched the surface of Polito’s understandably crowded memories in a 2011 Random Roles. Suffice to say, any actor whose résumé includes Highlander, Miami Vice, The Rocketeer, The Crow, Roseanne, Seinfeld, Tales From The Crypt, Gilmore Girls, Flags Of Our Fathers, American Dad, Blankman, and It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia—to name just a very few—has had a long, unusually varied career. Polito was a quintessential “that guy,” one of those idiosyncratic yet so familiar presences you were always pleasantly surprised to see blustering into even forgettable dross like, say, Veronica’s Closet.

So let’s focus on the ones that counted most. Polito almost turned down his role on Homicide—the bleakly grounded, ahead-of-its-time cop drama set in David Simon’s unvarnished Baltimore—neither wanting to move to the city nor play the part they were offering. But he so impressed producers Barry Levinson and Tom Fontana with his audition that they rewrote the role to suit him, reimagining Detective Crosetti as a tough-yet-tenderhearted Italian who deeply loved his daughter, jazz, and God, and who was endlessly fascinated by the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

Unfortunately, network executives saw only the show’s dismal ratings, so after the second season Polito was pushed out to make room for the addition of Megan Russert. After Polito complained about it to the press, his hiatus became permanent, setting off an even nastier feud with Fontana after the show had Crosetti die ignobly off-screen in a suicide, one that—while arguably creating Homicide’s most memorable episode—was a frustrating and thoroughly undeserved resolution for the character. Fortunately, bygones were bygones by the time of Homicide: The Movie, and Crosetti was allowed to return in a glimpse of the afterlife, finally at peace.

Polito’s work for the Coen brothers began, quite naturally, with 1990’s Miller’s Crossing, where the actor—who’d already racked up a decade’s worth of mob roles in stuff like The Gangster Chronicles and Crime Story—was a perfect match for the part of Johnny Caspar. With his deeply held beliefs in friendship, character, and ethics, his refusal to take the “high hat,” and his strict adherence to code among thieves, Caspar makes for an unusually sympathetic murderer, simply because he’s one of the few characters in the film who isn’t out to double-cross anyone. Polito’s also given some of the funniest, most pointed lines in a screenplay full of them—and he also gives you some of the greatest advice you’ll ever receive about shaving.

The Coens liked working with Polito so much, they would turn to him again and again, beginning with the film that spun out of their Miller’s Crossing-bred writer’s block, Barton Fink, where Polito plays a studio flunky. He would become part of the Coens’ stable of regulars, sometimes just popping up in bit parts (like a screaming business executive in The Hudsucker Proxy), but more often playing eccentrics who wander in from the fringes, like his “brother shamus” detective in The Big Lebowski, or the loquacious, flirtatious salesman who upends Billy Bob Thornton’s life in The Man Who Wasn’t There. “That alone has put me into the realm of the iconic, I guess, just because I’ve touched these Coen brothers,” Polito told The A.V. Club. “That I’ve really been able to have a career based on the fact that what they touch is gold and I just keep holding onto them and touching them.”

When he wasn’t in the Coens’ company, of course, Polito still remained plenty busy, though their films had a huge impact in terms of Polito’s comic potential finally being recognized. While he continued to turn up in plenty of crime films and cop dramas, in the wake of his Coen movies, Polito also started bringing his intimidating yet oddly loveable energy to sitcoms like Dream On and Seinfeld (“Want me, love me, shower me with kisses!”). He also made good use of his voice—that gravelly, bulldog burr—in cartoons like Avatar: The Last Airbender and several animated Batman movies. That versatility allowed him to keep working steadily at a rate most actors would envy, completing as many as a dozen things per year even while in remission.

A look at some of Polito’s final completed roles reflects his utility: another turn as Ed O’Neill’s estranged business partner on Modern Family; a grizzled detective on Comedy Bang! Bang!; and voicing mob boss Carmine Falcone in the Batman: Arkham Underworld video game. He may have been frequently typecast as the gruff heavy, but there were few who could make those often-thankless roles sing like Jon Polito. And the fact that he has such a lengthy recorded history of doing it means we’ll probably still be pleasantly surprised to find him popping up in something we’re just now getting around to discovering, long after he’s gone.
 

Filmography
Genre     Year     Title     Role     Notes
TV miniseries     1981     The Gangster Chronicles     Thomas "Three Finger Brown" Lucchese     13 episodes
Film     1981     Gangster Wars     Thomas "Three Finger Brown" Lucchese    
Film     1982     The Clairvoyant     Detective Sporaco     a.k.a. The Killing Hour
TV film     1983     Running Out     Joe Poswalsky    
Film     1984     C.H.U.D.     Newscaster    
TV film     1984     A Good Sport     Man in Taxi    
TV film     1985     Death of a Salesman    Howard    
Film     1985     Compromising Positions     Cop #1    
Film     1985     Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins        Zack    
Film     1986     Dream Lover     Doctor James    
Film     1986     Highlander     Detective Walter Bedsoe    
TV film     1986     A Deadly Business     Vitola    
Film     1986     Fire with Fire     Boss    
Film     1986     The Princess and the Call Girl     Private Detective    
TV series     1986-1989     The Equalizer     David Pfieffer / Gene Carmack / Carmack / Gianni     4 episodes
TV series     1986–1988     Crime Story     Phil Bartoli     16 episodes
Film     1987     Critical Condition     Kline    
TV series     1987     Ohara     Captain Ross     11 episodes
TV film     1988     Alone in the Neon Jungle     Brad Stakowski    
Film     1988     Homeboy     Moe Fingers    
TV series     1988     Miami Vice     El Gato     2 episodes
TV series     1988     Wiseguy     Eddie Van Platt     Episode: "Player to Be Named Now"
TV series     1989     The Equalizer     David Pfieffer     Episode: "Silent Fury"
TV film     1989     Livin' Large     Sal    
TV film     1989     Memories of Manon     Carmack    
TV series     1989     Trying Times     Agent Caponello     Episode: "Death and Taxes"
Film     1990     The Freshman     Chuck Greenwald    
Film     1990     Miller's Crossing     Johnny Caspar    
Film     1991     Barton Fink     Lou Breeze    
Film     1991     The Rocketeer     Bigelow    
TV series     1991     Empty Nest     Slocum     Episode: "Harry's Got a Gun"
TV series     1991     Tales from the Crypt     Nikos Stano     Episode: "Deadline"
Film     1992     Leather Jackets     Fat Jack    
Film     1992     Flodder in Amerika!     Larry Rosenbaum    
TV series     1992     Hearts Are Wild     Leon 'Pepe' Pepperman     3 episodes
TV series     1992-1994     Murder, She Wrote     Lieutenant Peter DiMartini     2 episodes
TV series     1993     Dinosaurs     Ty Warner (voice)     Episode: "Swamp Music"
TV series     1993     Fallen Angels     Al Reseck     Episode: "I'll Be Waiting"
TV series     1993     The Untouchables     Tommy Palumbo     Episode: "Railroaded"
Film     1993     The Contenders     Pedro Perusia    
TV series     1993-1994     Homicide: Life on the Street     Detective Steve Crosetti     13 episodes
Film     1994     The Hudsucker Proxy     Mr. Bumstead    
Film     1994     The Crow     Gideon    
Film     1994     Blankman     Michael 'The Suit' Minelli    
TV film     1994     Girls in Prison     Boss Johnson    
TV film     1994     The Shaggy Dog     Detective Al    
TV series     1994     Viper     Councilman Strand     Episode: "Pilot"
TV series     1995     Burke's Law         Episode: "Who Killed Cock-a-Doodle Dooley?"
Film     1995     Fluke     Boss    
Film     1995     Bushwhacked    Agent Palmer    
TV series     1995     Chicago Hope     Detective Bill Ranford     Episode: "Life Support"
TV series     1995     High Society     Alvin Spalding     Episode: "We Ought to Be in Pictures"
Film     1995     The Invaders     Whitley, Metro HQ     Uncredited
TV series     1995     Mad About You     Ralphy     Episode: "My Boyfriend's Back!"
TV series     1995     NYPD Blue     Paul Biaggi     Episode: "One Big Happy Family"
TV series     1995-1996     Dream On     Louie     4 episodes
Film     1996     Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco     Ashcan (voice)    
Film     1996     Just Your Luck     Nick    
TV series     1996-1998     New York Undercover     John Dennis     2 episodes
TV series     1996     The Pretender     Ben Hansel     Episode: "A Virus Among Us"
TV series     1996     Roseanne     Mr. Russo     Episode: "Millions from Heaven"
TV series     1996     Swift Justice     Tom Luddy     Episode: "Supernote"
Film     1997     The Corporate Ladder     Mr. Deacon    
TV series     1997-2000     Early Edition     Cliff Mourning / Louie DeFozio     2 episodes
TV series     1997     Fired Up     Sam Harris     Episode: "Domestic Bliss"
Short film     1997     Inside Out     Paparazzi     27 minutes; included in the compilation film Boys Life 3
TV film     1997     Invasion     Detective Kemper    
Animated TV series     1997     Life with Louie     Red Meat (voice)     Episode: "Louie's Harrowing Halloween"
TV series     1997     Night Man     Al Capone     Episode: "That Ol' Gang of Mine"
TV series     1997     Over the Top     Mr. Hamstead     Episode: "The Bee Story"
Film     1998     Nowhere Land     Frank    
Film     1998     The Big Lebowski     Da Fino    
Film     1998     Tale of the Mummy     Parsons    
Film     1998     Music from Another Room     Lorenzo Palmieri    
Film     1998     With Friends Like These...     Rudy Ptak    
TV film     1998     The Defenders: Choice of Evils     D.A. Al Orsini    
TV series     1998     Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show     Marv Fishland     Episode: "Honey, She's Like a Fish Out of Water"
TV series     1998     Jenny     Sid Bouchie     Episode: "A Girl's Gotta Get It"
TV series     1998     Millennium     Eddie Scarpino Giannini     Episode: "Omerta"
TV film     1998     Money Play$     Lou Spano    
TV series     1998     New York Undercover     Rinaldi     Episode: "Drop Dead Gorgeous"
TV series     1998     Players     Pappas     Episode: "Mint Condition"
TV series     1998     Seinfeld    Silvio     Episode: "The Reverse Peephole"
TV series     1998     Veronica's Closet     Mr. Lehman     Episode: "Veronica's Dog Day Afternoon"
TV film     1999     The Apartment Complex     Dr. Caligari    
Film     1999     Angel's Dance     Uncle Vinnie    
Film     1999     Road Kill     Jelly    
Film     1999     Stuart Little     Detective Sherman    
Film     1999     Carlo's Wake    Uncle Gus    
TV series     1999     Good vs. Evil     Howard     Episode: "Sunday Night Evil"
Video game     1999     Lands of Lore III     Dark Army Orc / Elliott the Guard / Viscosa (voices)    
TV series     1999     Nash Bridges     Roland Margolis     Episode: "Truth and Consequences"
Film     1999     The Green Mile     "D" Block Prison Guard     Uncredited
Short film     1999     Surgeon General's Warning     The Other Guy     8 minutes
Film     2000     After Sex     Naldo    
Film     2000     The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle     Schoentell    
Film     2000     Boys Life 3     Paparazzi     (segment "Inside Out")
Short TV film     2000     Nature Boy     Mort Ruby     29 minutes; directed by Kari Skogland
Film     2000     Flies on Cupid     Giorgio Gagantano    
Animated TV series     2000     Batman Beyond     The Major (voice)     Episode: "Betrayal"
TV film     2000     Homicide: The Movie     Steve Crosetti    
TV series     2000     The Invisible Man     Eddie the Mammoth     Episode: "Pilot"
TV series     2000     Popular     Caesar Croutons     Episode: "Hard on the Outside, Soft in the Middle"
TV series     2000     The Pretender     Constantin Falzone     Episode: "Cold Dick"
Animated film     2000     The Tangerine Bear: Home in Time for Christmas!     Virgil (voice)     Direct-to-video
Short film     2001     Frank's Last Dance     Frank     18 minutes
Film     2001     The Tailor of Panama     Ramón Rudd, the Banker    
Film     2001     The Shrink Is In     Judge Bob    
Film     2001     The Man Who Wasn't There     Creighton Tolliver    
TV series     2001     The Chris Isaak Show     Rhonda Parks     Episode: "Our Place"
TV series     2001-2002     The Chronicle     Donald Stern     22 episodes
TV series     2001     The Drew Carey Show     The Baby     Voice, 3 episodes
TV series     2001     Gideon's Crossing     Lou Peda     Episode: "The Race"
Film     2001     Mimic 2     Morrie Deaver    
Animated TV series     2002     Time Squad     Al Capone (voice)     Episode: "The Clownfather"
TV series     2002     Becker     Leonard Nagle     Episode: "Piece Talks"
Film     2002     29 Palms     The Security Guard    
TV series     2002     The Drew Carey Show     Stansfield     3 episodes
TV series     2002     Gilmore Girls     Pete / 'Father' in Kirk's Film     2 episodes
TV series     2002     Push, Nevada     Silas Bodnick     Episode: "The Amount"
TV series     2002     She Spies     Edward Malloy     Episode: "Ice Man"
TV film     2002     Women vs. Men     Desk Sergeant    
Film     2002     Black Mask 2: City of Masks     King    
Film     2003     The Singing Detective     Second Hood    
Film     2003     View from the Top     Roy Roby    
Film     2003     The Box     Michael Dickerson    
TV series     2003     Crossing Jordan     Dick     Episode: "Wild Card"
TV series     2003     Dragnet     Richard Maughm     Episode: "The Silver Slayer"
TV film     2003     Life on Parole     Ernie    
TV series     2003     The Lyon's Den     Mr. Carpeggi     Episode: "Trick or Treat"
Short film     2003     No Credits, No Peace     The Network Executive     6 minutes
TV series     2003-2004     Oliver Beene     Mr. Rayfield     2 episodes
TV series     2004     10-8: Officers on Duty     Enzo Fontana     Episode: "Wild and the Innocent"
TV film     2004     Gone, But Not Forgotten     Sam Oberhurst     based on the novel by Phillip Margolin
TV series     2004     It's All Relative     Leonard     Episode: "A Long Day's Journey Into Leonard's"
TV series     2004     Judging Amy     D.A. Gerald Abner     2 episodes
TV series     2004     The Jury     Johnny Pappas     Episode: "The Boxer"
Film     2004     Charlie the Ox     Freddy Boon    
Film     2004     The Last Shot     Wally Kamin    
TV series     2004     Scrubs     Mr. Summers     Episode: "My Female Trouble"
TV series     2004     My Wife and Kids     Minister     Episode: "The Wedding"
Animated TV series     2005     Avatar: The Last Airbender     Chief Arnook (voice)     2 episodes
Animated TV series     2005     The Buzz on Maggie     New Aldrin / New Pupert (voices)     Episode: "Those Pesky Roaches"
Film     2005     Short Order        
TV series     2005     Desperate Housewives     Charles Skouras     Episode: "Love Is in the Air"
TV film     2005     Family Plan     Gold    
TV series     2005-2008     Ghost Whisperer     Joe Grimaldi     2 episodes
Film     2005     The Honeymooners     Kirby    
TV series     2005     Threshold     Nicky Frost     Episode: "The Order"
TV series     2005     Without a Trace     Jimmy 'The Tooth' Fusco     Episode: "Lone Star"
Film     2006     The Alibi     Jimmy the Photographer     a.k.a. Lies & Alibis
TV series     2006     Masters of Horror     Montesquino     Episode: "Haeckel's Tale"
Film     2006     Cutting Room     Sandy    
Film     2006     Grilled     Leon Waterman    
Animated TV series     2006     Handy Manny     Joe Bolotero (voice)     Episode: "Supremoguy/Tool Talk"
Film     2006     Flags of Our Fathers     Borough President    
Film     2006     Big Nothing     Agent Hymes    
Animated film     2006     Happily N'Ever After     Wolf 1     Voice
Short film     2006     Cleaners         10 minutes
TV series     2007     Medium     Vincent Discala    
Film     2007     Cougar Club     Mr. Archibald    
Animated TV series     2007-2008     El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera     Don Bafi (voice)     2 episodes
Video game     2007     Dead Head Fred     Ulysses S. Pitt (voice)    
Film     2007     American Gangster     Rossi    
TV series     2008     Las Vegas     The Cleaner     Episode: "Guess Who's Coming to Breakfast"
Film     2008     The Marconi Bros.     Lou Burns    
TV film     2008     Rock Monster     The Colonel    
Animated TV series     2008     Chowder    Funjl / Guy (voices)     Episode: "The Moldy Touch/The Heavy Sleeper"
Film     2008     Bart Got a Room     Bob    
Short film     2008     Animated American     Max Rabbit     15 minutes
TV series     2008     Do Not Disturb     R.J.     Episode: "Dosing"
TV series     2008     Chocolate News     Harvey Silverstein     "Episode #1.7"
TV series     2008     Two and a Half Men     Mr. Sharipa     Episode: "He Smelled the Ham, He Got Excited"
TV series     2008-2009     Raising the Bar     Judge Dominick Ventimiglia     10 episodes
TV series     2009     Monk     George Gionopolis     Episode: "Mr. Monk Fights City Hall"
Film     2009     Super Capers: The Origins of Ed and the Missing Bullion     Captain Sludge    
Short film     2009     Locker      Don Dillon     15 minutes
TV film     2009     Citizen Jane     Detective Romer    
Animated TV series     2009-2010     Glenn Martin, DDS     Vito Renzuli (voice)     2 episodes
Film     2010     Stiffs     John "The Prince" Monaco    
Film     2010     Burning Palms     Ned    
Animated short film     2010     DC Showcase: The Spectre     Police Captain (voice)     Direct-to-video
TV series     2010     The Mentalist     Duesterberg     Episode: "Red Herring"
TV series     2010     Burning Palms     Ned    
Film     2010     The Grind     HIM    
Film     2010     Venus & Vegas     Frank    
Film     2010     The Last Godfather     Don Bonfante    
Short film     2010     The Talking Head     Mr. Opportunity     19 minutes
TV series     2011     Funny or Die Presents     Eddy     "Episode #2.1"
segment United States Police Department
Film     2011     Son of Morning     Mr. Bordasche    
Film     2011     Atlas Shrugged: Part I     Orren Boyle    
Film     2011     From the Head     Vinnie    
Animated TV series     2011     Ben 10: Ultimate Alien     DN Alien Mizaru / Mizaru (voices)     Episode: "Simian Says"
Animated film     2011     Batman: Year One     Commissioner Loeb (voice)     Direct-to-video
TV series     2011     It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia     Gino Reynolds     Episode: "Frank's Brother"
Animated TV series     2011     ThunderCats    Conquedor (voice)     Episode: "Berbils"
Short film     2011     Jonny Boy     Jonny Boy     7 minutes
TV series     2012     Franklin & Bash     Lucky Louie     Episode: "Jango and Rossi"
Animated TV series     2012     Robot and Monster    Sir Cranklin (voice)     Episode: "First Impressions"
TV series     2012     Mike & Molly     Frankie Moranto     Episode: "Thanksgiving Is Canceled"
Short film     2012     Anti-Muse     Anti-Muse     Directed by John M Goodner
TV series     2012-2013     Bunheads     Sal Russano     2 episodes
Film     2013     Gangster Squad     Jack Dragna    
Video game     2013     Batman: Arkham Origins     G.C.P.D. Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb (voice)    
Film     2014     Locker 13     Don Dillan     (segment "story #1")
TV series     2014     Castle     Harold Metzger     Episode: "That '70s Show"
Film     2014     Big Eyes     Enrico Banducci    
TV series     2014–2016     Modern Family     Earl Chambers     3 episodes
Animated TV series     2016     American Dad!     Dr. Kalgary (voice)     Episode: "Roots"
Video game     2016     Batman: Arkham Underworld     Carmine Falcone (voice)    
TV series     2016     Comedy Bang! Bang!     Frank O'Brien     Episode: "Tony Hale Wears a Blue Flannel Shirt and Fuchsia Sneakers"
Animated TV series     2016     Ultimate Spider-Man     Hammerhead (voice)     Episode: "Return to the Spider-Verse" (Part 3), posthumous
Animated TV series     2017     Tangled: The Series     Griffin of Pittsford (voice)     Episode: "Not in the Mood", posthumous
Film     2018     The Maestro     Herbert Englehart     final film role; posthumous