Richard Foronjy, the character actor known for playing tough-guy roles in movies including Serpico, Midnight Run, and Carlito’s Way, died May 19 at 86. A Brooklyn native, Foronjy had a
checkered past before getting into show business. He spent eight and a half years behind bars after being convicted of armed robbery, according to a 1987 interview, in which he also stated his trouble with the law was particularly helpful to all of his later roles. Indeed, following his role as a murderer in Serpico in 1973, Foronjy played cops in Lumet’s The Morning After (1986) and Prince of the City (1981), and a corrupt policeman in Once Upon a Time in America in 1984. He also portrayed mobsters in Martin Brest’s Midnight Run (1988), which also starred Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin, and Brian De Palma’s Carlito’s Way (1993), alongside Al Pacino and Sean Penn. Other film roles included Ghostbusters II, The Gambler, Fun With Dick and Jane, The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh, True Confessions, Man of the House, and others. On the television side, Foronjy also had roles in Who’s the Boss, Murphy’s Law, Silver Spoons, The Jeffersons, Cagney & Lacy, Hill St. Blues, M*A*S*H, The Streets of San Francisco, Taxi, and Hunter.
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