30 December 2023 , 21:56
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Richard Romanus has died at the age of 80 at a private hospital in Greece.
His death was announced by his son, Robert Romanus, who said he died at a private hospital in Volos, Greece. Richard's cause of death is yet to be confirmed.
The actor was well-known for his role as Richard La Penna in The Sopranos. The character was the husband of Dr Jennifer Melfi and he appeared in four episodes of the hit show from 1999 through to 2002.
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Richard Romanus died at the age of 80 (ABC)After Richard's death was announced to The Hollywood Reporter, tributes have been pouring in from fans, with many remembering Richard for his talent. "#RIP Richard Romanus. Great as Michael in Mean Streets, and I'll always remember him as Dr. Melfi's estranged husband on The Sopranos," one person wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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Another fan said: "Hollywood lost another great character actor, Richard Romanus," while a third person wrote: "He was a icon." Someone else posted: "He did a great job on the show. RIP," while other fans left prayer hand emojis.
As well as taking on the role of Richard La Penna in The Sopranos, the actor starred as Michael Longo in Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets in 1973. Richard also took on the role of taxi driver Harry Canyon in Heavy Metal in 1981.
Before venturing into acting, Richard received a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. He then spent a year in law school before deciding to change his path to become an actor at New York's Carnegie Hall.
He starred in The Sopranos, Mean Streets and Heavy Metal (HBO)In 1967, the actor married Tina Bohlmann. The couple welcomed a son, before divorcing in 1980. Richard then tied the knot with Oscar-nominated costume designer Anthea Sylbert in 2004. Richard is survived by his son Robert, his second wife Anthea and his younger brother Robert Romanus.
Richard is best known for one iconic scene in Mean Streets, featuring Robert De Niro. Martin Scorsese spoke about the scene 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," he explained. "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 relocated to the Greek town of Skiathos with his wife two decades ago. There, he decided to focus his career on writing and published his memoir in 2011.
The book, titled ACT III, was short-listed for the International Rubery Book Award a year after it was released. Richard also wrote two novels which were set in Greece - Chrysalis and Matoula’s Echo.