Francesco Daniele Quinn (March 22, 1963 – August 5, 2011) was an Italian-born American

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. The first son of Oscar-winner Anthony Quinn and Iolanda Addolori (Anthony Quinn's second wife), Francesco is perhaps best known for his breakout role as Rhah in

Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Stone won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as writer of '' Midnight Express'' (1978), and wrote the gangster film remake '' Sc ...

’s

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning ''

Platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may range ...

'' (1986). However, his first major role in television was in the 1985 prime-time

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

miniseries '' Quo Vadis?''. His final role was the voice of the Autobot Dino (Mirage) in '' Transformers: Dark of the Moon''.

Early years

Francesco Quinn was born in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, the son of Anthony Quinn and second wife Iolanda Addolori, a noted costume designer to whom Anthony Quinn was married for 31 years. Quinn had

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

, Irish, and Italian ancestry.

Career

Film

Quinn appeared in many feature films including the New York Independent Film Festival winner '' Placebo Effect''. He acted with his father in several films, including ''A Star For Two'' with

Lauren Bacall Lauren Bacall (; born Betty Joan Perske; September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014) was an American actress. She was named the 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute and received an Academy Honorary Aw ...

. The two Quinns also had the opportunity to share the role of Santiago in the 1990 mini-series '' The Old Man and the Sea'', son and father playing the character as a young and old man. Quinn sometimes played moody, dangerous characters, such as vampire Vlad Tepes in the 2003 direct to video alt-historical thriller ''

Vlad Vlad is a Romanian male given name. It is more commonly a nativized hypocorism of Vladislav and can also be used as a surname. It may refer to: Given name People * Vlad I of Wallachia (), ''voivode'' (prince) of Wallachia * Vlad II Dracul (b ...

'', and wandering warrior Thane Le Mal in the short film ''The Gnostic''. Like his father, Quinn also appeared in historical dramas, playing such roles as Latino Captain Salamanca in

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

’s mini-series '' Into the West'' (2005) and a lead role in TNT's '' Rough Riders'' (1997) (TV). One of Quinn's earliest roles was as Marcus Vinicius in the 1985 mini-series '' Quo Vadis?'', co-starring with some major film actors of the 1980s. Later examples of Quinn's work included ''

Park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

'', which won the audience award at 2007 CineVegas, and the short film '' Muertas'', starring America Ferrera. In 2007, he appeared as Ruben Vega in the

-nominated short film ''The Tonto Woman'', adapted from the

Elmore Leonard Elmore John Leonard Jr. (October 11, 1925August 20, 2013) was an American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. His earliest novels, published in the 1950s, were Westerns, but he went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thri ...

short story.

Television

From 1999 to 2001, Francesco appeared on the CBS soap opera ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, Wi ...

'' as

Nina Webster Nina Webster is a fictional character from ''The Young and the Restless'', an American soap opera on the CBS network, portrayed by Tricia Cast. She was introduced during the episode airing on June 26, 1986, as a pregnant teenager whom Christine Bla ...

's boyfriend, Tomas del Cerro, and was nominated for an

ALMA Award The American Latino Media Arts Award or ALMA Award, formerly known as Latin Oscars Award, is an award highlighting the best Hispanic and Latino Americans, American Latino contributions to music, television, and film. The awards promote fair and ...

(an award reserved for Latino/a performers) as Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Soap Opera for his work as Tomas Del Cerro, an aloof writer from New York. Quinn also appeared extensively in television guest-star roles in crime and thriller dramas. He was lead guest star in an episode of '' JAG'' (1995). On CBS's '' The Fugitive'', Quinn played Victor Gutierrez, a DEA agent with an edge, and played the recurring role of

Islamic terrorist Islamic terrorism (also known as Islamist terrorism or radical Islamic terrorism) refers to terrorist acts with religious motivations carried out by fundamentalist militant Islamists and Islamic extremists. Incidents and fatalities ...

Syed Ali on Fox's series '' 24''. Other TV guest starring roles occurred in ''

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'', '' ER'', ''

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'', '' The Glades'', ''

Navy NCIS ''NCIS'' is an American police procedural television series, revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service combining elements of the Military fiction, military drama and police procedural genre ...

'', ''

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'', '' Crossing Jordan'', '' In the Heat of the Night'', ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann (director), Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo ...

'', '' Red Shoe Diaries'', '' The Handler'', '' Soldier of Fortune'', '' Good vs. Evil'', ''

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'', and ''

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''. Quinn also portrayed the final criminal/villain, Guillermo Beltran, in the long-running F/X series, '' The Shield''. In 2008, Quinn joined Luke Perry and

C. Thomas Howell Christopher Thomas Howell (born December 7, 1966) is an American actor. He has starred in the films '' Soul Man'', '' The Hitcher'', '' Grandview U.S.A.'', ''Red Dawn'', ''Secret Admirer'' and '' The Outsiders''. He has also appeared in '' Gett ...

in the western film ''

A Gunfighter's Pledge ''A Gunfighter's Pledge'' (the working title was ''The Pledge'') is a 2008 American Western television film starring Luke Perry. The film premiered on Hallmark Channel in July 2008. It was filmed at Big Sky Ranch in Simi Valley, California. Pl ...

''. Quinn was one of the earlier working actors to branch out into contributing to video games with his role as a main character in '' Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun'' (1999). In 2010–2011, he took part in the second season of the Italian TV series ''Il commissario Manara''.

Personal life

Francesco married Julie McCann and had two children; Massimiliano and Michela Quinn. The marriage ended in divorce in 2006. Before his death he was dating Valentina Castellani. Quinn has two siblings:

Danny Quinn Danny Quinn (born Daniele Anthony Quinn; 16 April 1964) is a Mexican-Italian actor. He is the son of Anthony Quinn.http://articles.philly.com/1997-08-20/living/25567777_1_kathy-benvin-fayed-dodi Since 1986, he has appeared in more than twenty fi ...

, Lorenzo Quinn. Quinn has eight other surviving half siblings: Alex, Antonia, Catalina, Christina, Danny, Duncan, Ryan, Sean, and Valentina Quinn. His eldest sibling, Christopher, drowned in 1941, aged two.

Athletic pursuits

Quinn pursued sports such as

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

, free diving, road cycling,

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

, and actively raced motocross and street bikes. Quinn also was an avid motorcycler, and was a spokesman for The Motorcycle Industry Council and

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

. He was fluent in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, Spanish and Italian. Quinn was a contestant on ''Ty Murray’s Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge'' on CMT, until he was sidelined with a broken rib after being stomped on by a Level 2 bull.

Death

Quinn died on August 5, 2011, in Malibu, California after experiencing what was believed to be a heart attack while running up a street with his children near his home.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
QuickTime-viewable copy of Francesco Quinn as The Gnostic

L.A. Times article "Quinn Begins Again" on Oscar-nominated ''The Tonto Woman''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Quinn, Francesco 1963 births 2011 deaths 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Male actors from Rome American male film actors American male soap opera actors American male television actors American male voice actors People of Lazian descent Italian expatriates in the United States Italian male film actors Italian male television actors American people of Irish descent American people of Italian descent American people of Mexican descent Italian people of Irish descent Italian people of Mexican descent