First saw him on Broadway in “The Great White Hope”. A long and admirable career.
One of the great Jewish actors.
I loved him in Homicide (one of the greatest cop shows every), especially because he was playing a man of Sicilian descent. It was never explained why that happened, either.
I first noted him in an episode of Night Gallery, “The Messiah on Mott Street” with Edward G. Robinson. I was very disappointed in his role in Live and Let Die, mostly because the movie was so awful (and his death scene was ludicrous). But he was absolutely great in Homicide
It was explained. His father was from Baltimore’s Little Italy and his mother was from a nearby housing project. Late in the series his son is a character played by Giancarlo Esposito and there was at least one episode when some of his Italian American relatives were shown.
Yep, the Night Gallery vignette was the first time I ever noticed him as. . . “The Messiah!” And as for his being of Sicilian descent. . . Dennis Hopper explained that rather well why that would be plausible in the movie “True Romance.”
I’m pretty much the last person on the 'Net to find something funny/nifty. Here’s a bogus trailer for Alien: