Reni Santoni facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Reni Santoni
Santoni in 1973
Born	(1938-04-21)April 21, 1938 New York City, U.S.
Died	August 1, 2020(2020-08-01) (aged 82) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other names	Reni Sands
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1962–2012
Spouse(s)	Lisa James
Partner(s)	Betty Thomas
Children	1

Reni Santoni (born April 21, 1938 – died August 1, 2020) was an American actor. He worked in movies, on TV shows, and as a voice actor. People often remember him for playing Poppie on the TV show Seinfeld. He also played Tony Gonzales in the movie Cobra and Chico González in Dirty Harry.

Early life

Reni Santoni was born in New York City on April 21, 1938. His family came from Corsica and Spain. He started his acting career in plays that were not on Broadway, called Off-Broadway theatre. He even wrote a play called Raisin' Hell in the Son which first showed in 1962. Reni is a shorter version of his full name, Renaldo.

Career

Santoni's first movie role was a small part in the 1964 film The Pawnbroker. In this movie, he played a character trying to sell a radio. His first main role was as a young actor in the movie Enter Laughing. The famous director Carl Reiner chose him for the role of David Kolowitz. This movie was based on Carl Reiner's own life.

Santoni later played Inspector "Chico" González in the 1971 movie Dirty Harry. He worked with Carl Reiner again in the comedy movie Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982). In the 1980s, he also appeared in movies like Bad Boys (1983) as Ramon Herrera. He played Detective Tony Gonzales in the action film Cobra (1986) with Sylvester Stallone.

Reni Santoni also acted in TV shows. He was in the short series Sanchez of Bel Air and Manimal, where he played Nick Rivera. A friend named Tracy Newman said that Reni was very different from the characters he played. He often played serious roles like police officers or judges. But his friends knew him as "the funniest guy in the room."

Santoni was a guest star on many TV shows. These included Barnaby Jones, Lou Grant, Hawaii Five-O, and The Odd Couple. In 1973, he played a junior lawyer on Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law. His most well-known role later in his career was as Poppie. Poppie was a loud and memorable restaurant owner on the show Seinfeld.

Personal life

Reni Santoni was married to Lisa James. He later had a long-term relationship with actress and director Betty Thomas. He had one son named Nick.

Death

Reni Santoni passed away on August 1, 2020. He was 82 years old and died at a hospice in Los Angeles. He had been dealing with several health issues, including cancer, in his last years.

Film and TV Roles

Movies

TV series

• The Odd Couple ("The Hideaway") – Ernie Wilson
• Hawaii Five-O (1978) Episode: "A Death in the Family" – Jimmy Rego
• CHiPs S5 - E25 (Overload) Computer thief - 1 episode (1982)
• Miami Vice ("Badge of Dishonor") – Lt. Arturo Dominguez
• Murder, She Wrote - 2 episodes (1989, 1994)
• NYPD Blue (1995-1996, 3 episodes) - Det. Archie Solomon, Sal Campisi
• Seinfeld (1994 - 1998, 5 episodes) - Poppie
• Grey’s Anatomy (2005) - Alan Griswold

See also

In Spanish: Reni Santoni para niños