How did Richard Romanus die? 'The Sopranos' star's son announces actor's sudden death at 80
VOLOS, GREECE: Richard Romanus died at the age of 80. 'The Sopranos' actor died on December 23 at a hospital in Volos, Greece, his son Robert confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.
The reason for death has not yet been disclosed.
Throughout his career, Richard has portrayed a variety of tough guy roles, including Richard LaPenna in 'The Sopranos', Michael Longo in 'Mean Streets', and Harry Canyon in 'Heavy Metal'.
He also starred in the films 'Point of No Return', 'Oscar', and 'Sitting Ducks'.
He appeared in the television shows 'Mission: Impossible', 'Strike Force', 'Hawaii Five-O', and 'Foul Play'.
His younger brother Robert Romanus, who portrayed Mike Damone in 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High', and his second wife, Oscar-nominated costume designer Anthea Sylbert, whom he married in August 1985, are other surviving in addition to his son.
Was 'The Sopranos' star Richard Romanus married?
Tina Bohlmann, an actress and singer, was Richard's first wife. They were married from 1967 until their divorce in 1975.
In August 1985, he married his second wife, Anthea (Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown, Julia). Richard and Anthea relocated to Skiathos, Greece, 23 years ago, and he wrote about the experience in Act III: A Small Island in the Aegean, which was released in 2011.
In addition, he wrote two novels set in the nation, Chrysalis in 2011 and Matoula's Echo in 2014. The pair, who were named honorary citizens of Skiathos in 2021, also wrote and produced two Lifetime telefilms, 'Giving Up the Ghost' in 1998 and 'If You Believe' in 1999 (for which they received a WGA nomination).
Where was Richard Romanus from?
The Connecticut-raised actor, born February 8, 1943, in Barre, Vermont, obtained a philosophy degree from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1964 before attending law school.
He barely stayed for a year before pursuing acting at Carnegie Hall in New York with fellow actor Lee Strasberg.
Martin Scorsese recalled Robert Romanus's iconic scene with Robert De Niro in 'Mean Streets'
Martin Scorsese recounted Richard's legendary encounter with Robert De Niro on the next-to-last day of filming in Andy Dougan's 2011 book, Untouchable: Robert De Niro.
"Something had happened between Bobby and Richard because the animosity between them in that scene is real, and I played on it," stated the film's director.
"They had gotten on each other’s nerves to the point where I think they really wanted to kill each other. I kept shooting take after take of Bobby yelling all these insults while the crew was getting very upset."
Richard claimed that De Niro became enraged when he observed him laughing throughout the diatribe.
“By laughing I was saving face. He thought I should be fuming, but he had no control over my reactions,” he revealed.
“Sometimes the reaction you get from your acting partner is not the one you want. Then you simply have to react off that. But in this scene, I laughed organically. I thought Bobby was very funny when he was doing that stuff. And he looked ridiculous.”