Jon Polito, prolific character actor; at 65 . Associated Press . Jon
Polito, the prolific and raspy-voiced character actor whose more than
200 credits ranged from "Homicide: Life on the Street" and "Modern
Family" to the Coen brothers films "Barton Fink" and "The Big
Lebowski," died Thursday. He was 65. Mr. Polito died at City of Hope
Hospital in Duarte, Calif., according to his manager, Maryellen
Mulcahy. He was being treated for multiple myeloma, Mulcahy said. A
native of Philadelphia and graduate of Villanova University, the short,
mustachioed Mr. Polito had loved movies and television since childhood
and was inspired by the over-the-top acting he first spotted in old
horror films and melodramas. With no pretentions to being a leading
man, he became one of the busiest TV and movie actors of the past three
decades, averaging several projects a year since the mid-1980s. He
worked in crime stories ("Homicide: Life on the Street," "The Gangster
Chronicles"), drama ("Flags of Our Fathers"), comedies ("The Freshman,"
"Modern Family") and in the Coens' genre-defying projects. He also was
a award-winning stage actor, winning an Obie in 1980 for his
performances with two theater companies. Mulcahy said he continued to
act up to the end of his life. Even if you didn't know his name, you
probably saw his face, whether as the "private snoop" confronting Jeff
Bridges in "The Big Lebowski" or as the agitated landlord with the
strands of hair across his forehead in the "Reverse Peephole" episode
of "Seinfeld. He was dressed as a woman on "The Chris Isaak Show" and
turned up once on "Late Night With David Letterman," posing as CBS
promotions man Phil Carmichael and explaining why Letterman's recent
heart problems were good for business. "People think you're going to
die, Dave: Boom! Double your viewership. On the ground-breaking NBC
drama "Homicide: Life on the Street," Mr. Polito played fussy,
beleaguered Baltimore police Detective Steve Crosetti. Partnered with
Meldrick Lewis (played by Clark Johnson), Crosetti was on the force for
the first two seasons of the series' seven-season run in the 1990s.
Creative revamping of the show prompted Crosetti to be written out at
the start of season 3 - though only temporarily, the producers vowed -
which spurred an angry Mr. Polito to complain to the media. For that,
he was fired, which led to further outrage by the actor when his
character, after several episodes' unexplained absence, was said to
have been found: A depressed Crosetti had committed suicide. On several
episodes of "Modern Family," Mr. Polito played the business archrival
of Jay Pritchett (series regular Ed O'Neill). Mr. Polito leaves his
partner, Darryl Armbruster.
