Richard Romanus

Richard Romanus
Publicity Photo of Richard Romanus
Born
Richard Joseph Romanos[1]

(1943-02-08)February 8, 1943
Barre, Vermont, U.S.
DiedDecember 23, 2023(2023-12-23) (aged 80)
Volos, Greece
Occupation(s)Actor, writer, screenwriter, songwriter
Spouses
  • Tina Bohlmann
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1967; div. 1980)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1985)​
Children1
RelativesRobert Romanus (brother)
AwardsBest Original Screenplay in Longform Television by the Writers Guild of America (nominated)

Richard Romanus (born Richard Joseph Romanos; February 28, 1943 – December 23, 2023) was an American actor. Among other roles, he appeared in Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets and provided voices for Ralph Bakshi's animated films Wizards and Hey Good Lookin'. He played Richard La Penna, Jennifer Melfi's ex-husband, later husband again, in four episodes of The Sopranos from 1999 to 2002. In 1999, he co-wrote the Christmas film If You Believe along with his wife Anthea Sylbert, which was nominated by the Writers Guild of America TV Award for Original Long Form.[not verified in body]

Personal life

Romanus was born in Barre, Vermont, the son of Eileen (née Maloof) and Dr. Raymond Romanos, a dentist. He was of Lebanese descent.[2] Romanus grew up Catholic.[3][4] He lived in West Hartford, Connecticut, and in 1964 graduated from Xavier University with a bachelor's in philosophy, before studying acting with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio in New York.[5] His younger brother Robert Romanus is also an actor. They both appeared in the MacGyver episode "The Prodigal" in 1985.[6] On May 20, 1967, he married Tina Bohlmann; they had a son before divorcing in 1980.[citation needed]

Romanus was married to Oscar-nominated costume designer Anthea Sylbert from August 1985 until his death.[7] In 2004, they moved to the Greek island of Skiathos,[8] after which he focused on writing.[9] In 2011, he published his memoirs, Act III (Aiora Press, Athens, and Armida Publications, Nicosia), and first novel, Chrysalis (Armida Publications).[10] In 2012, Act III was short-listed for the International Rubery Book Award.[citation needed]

Romanus died in Volos, Greece, on December 23, 2023, at the age of 80.[11][7]

Filmography

This is a list of films that have featured Richard Romanus.[12]

Films

Television (partial)

  • 1970 – Mission: Impossible – Episode "Gitano" as Guard
  • 1970–1971 – The Mod Squad (as Richard Romanos) – Appeared In Two Episodes
  • 1974 – Rhoda – Episode: "9-E is Available" as Luis Alvarez
  • 1974 – Kojak – Episode: "The Betrayal" as Detective Sam Calucci
  • 1977 – Charlie's Angels – Episode: "The Big Tap-Out" as Roy David
  • 1977 – Starsky & Hutch – Episode: "Huggy Bear and the Turkey" as 'Sonny' Watson
  • 1978 – Rockford Files – Episode: "Three Day Affair with a Thirty Day Escrow" as Sean Innes
  • 1978 – Hawaii Five-O - Episode: "Small Potatoes" as Johnny Noah
  • 1981–1982 – Strike Force
  • 1983 – Cagney & Lacey – Episode: "Let Them Eat Pretzels"
  • 1984 – Hunter – Episode: "High Bleacher Man"
  • 1985 – Tales from the Darkside – Episode: "Bigalow's Last Smoke" as Frank Bigalow
  • 1985 – MacGyver – Episode "The Prodigal" (as brother to his real-life brother Robert Romanus)
  • 1986 – MacGyver – Episode "Twice Stung" as James Crowe
  • 1989 – Midnight Caller – Episode "Trash Radio" as Maurice Maxwell
  • 1989 – Mission Impossible – Episode "The Fixer" as Arthur Six
  • 1996 – Diagnosis: Murder – Episode "Misdiagnosis Murder" as Dr. Ed Quiller

Bibliography

  • Act III, 2011 (Aiora Press, Athens, and Armida Publications, Nicosia)
  • Chrysalis, 2011 (Armida Publications, Nicosia)

Awards and nominations

  • 1999 – Best Original Screenplay in Long Form Television - Writers Guild of America (nominated)[7]
  • 2012 – Short-listed for the International Rubery Book Award for Act III[13]

References

  1. ^ "Richard Joseph Romanos : Vermont, Vital Records". FamilySearch. Archived from the original on April 14, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  2. ^ Hammer, Joshua (2016-03-14). "Outraged Arab-Americans Charge That Goldie Hawn's New Film Violates the Rules of Protocol". People.com. Retrieved 2016-03-20.
  3. ^ "Eileen Maloof Romanos - View Obituary & Service Information".
  4. ^ "Richard Romanus Biography (1943-)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  5. ^ Xavier University. "Profile: Richard Romanus | Xavier Magazine". Xtra.xavier.edu. Retrieved 2016-03-20.
  6. ^ IMDb. "MacGyver: The Prodigal". IMDB.com. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
  7. ^ a b c Barnes, Mike (30 December 2023). "Richard Romanus, Actor in 'Mean Streets,' Dies at 80". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2023-12-30. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  8. ^ Travis, Emlyn (2023-12-31). "Richard Romanus, 'Mean Streets' and 'The Sopranos' star, dies at 80". EW.com. Archived from the original on 2023-12-31. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  9. ^ "Skiathos offers honorary citizenship to Hollywood's Richard Romanus and Anthea Sylbert, in ceremony that also brings Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell". Greek City Times. 2021-06-28. Archived from the original on 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  10. ^ https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Richard+Romanus%22&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjLoM2t6LvnAhWIQc0KHYteA5EQ9AgwAHoECAAQBQ&biw=1089&bih=565&dpr=2
  11. ^ "Πέθανε ο ηθοποιός Richard Romanus - Ζούσε μόνιμα στην Σκιάθο" (in Greek). 2023-12-27. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  12. ^ "Richard Romanus". IMDb. Retrieved 20 March 2016.[unreliable source?]
  13. ^ "Previous winners". Archived from the original on July 5, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2012.[better source needed]