Veteran actor Richard Foronjy, known for his iconic character roles in classic films such as Midnight Run, Carlito’s Way, and Serpico, died on Sunday, May 19. He was 86. The McHoul Funeral Home, based in Fishkill, New York City, confirmed the passing in an obituary for the late actor. A cause of death was not provided. Born on August 3, 1937, in Brooklyn, New York, Foronjy spent more than eight years in prison before becoming an actor. In a 1987 interview with Upi’s Vernon Scott, Foronjy said (per The Hollywood Reporter) he was arrested over 20 times for “forgery, bank robbery, credit card rip-offs, assorted crimes and skullduggery… almost everything except drugs and homicide.” After his 8½-year stretch in the New York prisons Sing Sing and Attica, Foronjy was released when he was 32 and worked as a butcher while taking acting classes in his spare time. He later signed with an agent and landed the...
- 5/22/2024
- TV Insider
Richard Foronjy, who spent more than eight years in prison before he turned to acting and appeared in such films as Serpico, Midnight Run, Repo Man and Carlito’s Way, died Sunday, his family announced. He was 86.
Foronjy said he was arrested more than 20 times for “forgery, bank robbery, credit card rip-offs, assorted crimes and skullduggery … [guilty of] almost everything except drugs and homicide,” he said in a 1987 interview with Upi’s Vernon Scott.
The Brooklyn native was convicted only once, but that got him an 8½-year stretch in the New York prisons Sing Sing and Attica before he was released when he was 32.
In Hollywood, not surprisingly, Foronjy specialized in portraying cops and crooks.
He was a cop killer in his screen debut, Serpico (1973), and cops in The Morning After (1986) and Prince of the City (1981), all for Sidney Lumet. “I was especially good at playing cops, no doubt because I got to...
Foronjy said he was arrested more than 20 times for “forgery, bank robbery, credit card rip-offs, assorted crimes and skullduggery … [guilty of] almost everything except drugs and homicide,” he said in a 1987 interview with Upi’s Vernon Scott.
The Brooklyn native was convicted only once, but that got him an 8½-year stretch in the New York prisons Sing Sing and Attica before he was released when he was 32.
In Hollywood, not surprisingly, Foronjy specialized in portraying cops and crooks.
He was a cop killer in his screen debut, Serpico (1973), and cops in The Morning After (1986) and Prince of the City (1981), all for Sidney Lumet. “I was especially good at playing cops, no doubt because I got to...
- 5/21/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Richard Foronjy, a character actor who grew up in the gangster world and went to prison before becoming an actor in movies including “Midnight Run,” “Prince of the City” and “Carlito’s Way,” died Sunday. He was 86.
Foronjy, born in Brooklyn, N.Y., saw his first small role as Corsaro in “Serpico,” the 1973 autobiographical crime drama that starred Al Pacino as a whistleblower whose work led to an investigation by the Knapp Commission into the department.
In the 1984 “Repo Man,” starring Harry Dean Stanton and Emilio Estevez, Foronjy played Arnold Plettschner, the rent-a-cop with the memorable speech, “You’re fuckin’ right I’m Plettschner! Arnold Plettschner! Three times decorated in two world wars! I was killing people while you were still swimming around in your father’s balls! You little scumbag! I worked five years in a slaughterhouse, and ten years as a prison guard in Attica!”
In the 1988 comedy action film “Midnight Run,...
Foronjy, born in Brooklyn, N.Y., saw his first small role as Corsaro in “Serpico,” the 1973 autobiographical crime drama that starred Al Pacino as a whistleblower whose work led to an investigation by the Knapp Commission into the department.
In the 1984 “Repo Man,” starring Harry Dean Stanton and Emilio Estevez, Foronjy played Arnold Plettschner, the rent-a-cop with the memorable speech, “You’re fuckin’ right I’m Plettschner! Arnold Plettschner! Three times decorated in two world wars! I was killing people while you were still swimming around in your father’s balls! You little scumbag! I worked five years in a slaughterhouse, and ten years as a prison guard in Attica!”
In the 1988 comedy action film “Midnight Run,...
- 5/21/2024
- by Selena Kuznikov
- Variety Film + TV
Sidney Lumet’s harrowing film is a true-life account of a NY narcotics detective- turned government informant; its length and intensity can be emotionally overpowering. Treat Williams is the idealistic cop who blows up his whole life and ends up betraying all the people he hoped to protect. He doesn’t seem to understand the ruthless, opportunistic nature of ‘systemic reform’ as he goes from good guy to the object of hate for both crooks and cops, and a target for the very same system that welcomed his help. The Wac made an excellent choice with this one — it’s one of the most deserving, underappreciated films of the early 1980s.
Prince of the City
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1981 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 167 min. / Available at Amazon.com / Street Date August 24, 2021 / 21.99
Starring: Treat Williams, Jerry Orbach, Richard Foronjy, Don Billett, Kenny Marino, Carmine Caridi, Tony Page, Norman Parker, Paul Roebling, Bob Balaban,...
Prince of the City
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1981 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 167 min. / Available at Amazon.com / Street Date August 24, 2021 / 21.99
Starring: Treat Williams, Jerry Orbach, Richard Foronjy, Don Billett, Kenny Marino, Carmine Caridi, Tony Page, Norman Parker, Paul Roebling, Bob Balaban,...
- 9/14/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
“See ya in the next life,” The Duke and Jack Walsh say to each other near the end of Midnight Run, one the moviedom’s great buddy-action flicks. Charles Grodin, who played bail-jumping mob accountant John “The Duke” Mardukas in the 1988 film, died today at 86. His co-star, two-time Oscar winner Robert De Niro, paid tribute to the late actor today.
“Chuck was as good a person as he was an actor,” De Niro said in a statement. “Midnight Run was a great project to work on, and Chuck made it an even better one. He will be missed. I am very, very sad to hear of his passing.”
Midnight Run also was a great project to watch.
Charles Grodin: A Career In Pictures – Photo Gallery
Directed by Martin Brest from an underrated screenplay by George Gallo, the movie follows De Niro’s Walsh, a cop-turned-bounty hunter who is offered a...
“Chuck was as good a person as he was an actor,” De Niro said in a statement. “Midnight Run was a great project to work on, and Chuck made it an even better one. He will be missed. I am very, very sad to hear of his passing.”
Midnight Run also was a great project to watch.
Charles Grodin: A Career In Pictures – Photo Gallery
Directed by Martin Brest from an underrated screenplay by George Gallo, the movie follows De Niro’s Walsh, a cop-turned-bounty hunter who is offered a...
- 5/18/2021
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
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