Jon Raymond Polito (December 29, 1950 – September 1, 2016) was an American
character actor.
In a film and television career spanning 35 years, he amassed over 220 credits.
Notable television roles included
Detective Steve Crosetti in the first two seasons of ''
Homicide: Life on the Street'' and as Phil Bartoli on the first season of ''
Crime Story''. He also appeared in several films including ''
The Rocketeer
The Rocketeer is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books originally published by Pacific Comics. Created by writer/artist Dave Stevens, the character first appeared in 1982 and is an homage to the Saturday matinee serial heroes ...
'', ''
The Crow
The Crow is a supernatural superhero comic book series created by James O'Barr revolving around the titular character of the same name. The series, which was originally created by O'Barr as a means of dealing with the death of his fiancée at t ...
'' and ''
Gangster Squad'', as well as his work with the
Coen brothers
Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957),State of Minnesota. ''Minnesota Birth Index, 1935–2002''. Minnesota Department of Health. collectively known as the Coen brothers (), are American film ...
. He appeared in five of their films, including ''
Miller's Crossing
''Miller's Crossing'' is a 1990 American neo-noir gangster film written, directed and produced by the Coen brothers and starring Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden, John Turturro, Jon Polito, J. E. Freeman, and Albert Finney. The plot concerns a ...
'', ''
Barton Fink
''Barton Fink'' is a 1991 American period black comedy psychological thriller film written, produced, edited and directed by the Coen brothers. Set in 1941, it stars John Turturro in the title role as a young New York City playwright who is hir ...
'' and ''
The Big Lebowski
''The Big Lebowski'' () is a 1998 crime comedy film written, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker and avid bowler. He is assaulted as a result of mistaken ...
''. Polito also portrayed legendary "
hungry i
The hungry i was a nightclub in San Francisco, California, originally located in the North Beach neighborhood. It played a major role in the history of stand-up comedy in the United States. It was launched by Eric "Big Daddy" Nord, who sold i ...
" nightclub impresario
Enrico Banducci
Enrico Banducci (born Harry Charles Banducci; February 17, 1922 – October 9, 2007) was an American impresario. Banducci operated the hungry i nightclub in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood, where he launched the careers of The Kingston ...
in a large supporting role in
Tim Burton
Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as '' Beetlejuice'' (1988), '' Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), '' The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993 ...
's 2014 film ''
Big Eyes
''Big Eyes'' is a 2014 American biographical drama film directed by Tim Burton, written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, and starring Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz. It is about the relationship between American artist Margaret Keane ...
'' starring
Amy Adams
Amy Lou Adams (born August 20, 1974) is an American actress. Known for both her comedic and dramatic roles, she has been featured three times in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actresses. She has received various accolades, incl ...
and
Christoph Waltz.
''Homicide: Life on the Street''
Polito was initially reluctant to audition for ''Homicide'' as he didn't want to move to Baltimore for the series, having just relocated from New York City to Los Angeles. His agents sent him the script anyway, featuring a dialogue scene between a Polish-American and an Irish-American detective. Polito preferred the Irish detective role, but was told that he could only do the Polish one. After reading for the part Polito added a message on his audition tape saying that if the producers wanted to call him back he would only be interested if he could take the part of the Irish detective. Series co-creators
Barry Levinson
Barry Lee Levinson (born April 6, 1942) is an American filmmaker, comedian and actor. Levinson's best-known works are mid-budget comedy drama and drama films such as '' Diner'' (1982); ''The Natural'' (1984); '' Good Morning, Vietnam'' (1987); ...
and
Tom Fontana
Tom Fontana (born September 12, 1951) is an American screenwriter, writer, and television producer. Fontana worked on NBC's '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' and created HBO's ''Oz.''
Early life and education
Fontana was born on the west si ...
rewrote the character as an Italian named
Steve Crosetti and cast him in the role. The Polish detective was also rewritten, becoming Detective
Meldrick Lewis
Meldrick Lewis is a fictional character on the television series '' Homicide: Life on the Street'', played by Clark Johnson. The character is loosely based on Baltimore detective Donald Waltemeyer and appeared in the series for its entire run. Lewi ...
, and was played by African-American actor
Clark Johnson
Clark Johnson (born September 10, 1954), is an American-Canadian actor and director who has worked in both television and film. He is best known for his roles as David Jefferson in ''Night Heat'' (1985–1988), Clark Roberts in '' E.N.G.'' (1989 ...
.
The show was rating poorly and the producers were under pressure from
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
to include a new female character (
Megan Russert
Detective (formerly Lieutenant, Captain) Megan Russert is a fictional character on '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' played by Isabella Hofmann. At the time of her introduction in the premiere episode of the third season, she is a lieutenant who t ...
) in the hope of gaining broader appeal. As a result, they decided to write out Polito's character at the end of Season 2. Fontana assured him that he would be brought back later in the season, but Polito was unhappy and criticized the producers publicly, an action he later regretted.
The outburst caused a rift with Fontana
and the Crosetti character was killed off early in Season 3, with the explanation that the detective had committed suicide. This further infuriated Polito, who again complained to the media, triggering a public slagging match between him and Fontana. Interviewed about the situation in 2005, Polito expressed regret for his handling of the matter. He noted that he and Fontana subsequently patched up their differences, and as a result the Crosetti character returned to make a farewell appearance as a spirit in ''
Homicide: The Movie''.
Coen brothers collaboration
Polito was a regular in the
Coen brothers
Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957),State of Minnesota. ''Minnesota Birth Index, 1935–2002''. Minnesota Department of Health. collectively known as the Coen brothers (), are American film ...
movies appearing in five of their films. The Coens had seen Polito in the New York stage adaptation of ''Death of a Salesman'' in 1986 playing Howard Wagner. They approached him to play the part of The Dane in ''
Miller's Crossing
''Miller's Crossing'' is a 1990 American neo-noir gangster film written, directed and produced by the Coen brothers and starring Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden, John Turturro, Jon Polito, J. E. Freeman, and Albert Finney. The plot concerns a ...
'' (1990), but after reading the script he turned them down saying he would only play the Italian gangster Johnny Caspar. The Coens auditioned several other actors but eventually used Polito after they made him read his entire role cold.
He was offered the role of Lou Breeze in their next film ''
Barton Fink
''Barton Fink'' is a 1991 American period black comedy psychological thriller film written, produced, edited and directed by the Coen brothers. Set in 1941, it stars John Turturro in the title role as a young New York City playwright who is hir ...
'' (1991), in a role which was written especially for him. Again he turned down the Coens offer saying he wanted to play the part of movie producer Jack Lipnick. Actress
Frances McDormand
Frances Louise McDormand (born Cynthia Ann Smith; June 23, 1957) is an American actress and producer. Throughout her career spanning over four decades, McDormand has received numerous accolades, including four Academy Awards, two Primetime Emm ...
persuaded him to take the role saying it would change his career.
He later appeared in ''
The Hudsucker Proxy
''The Hudsucker Proxy'' is a 1994 screwball comedy film co-written, produced, and directed by the Coen brothers. Sam Raimi co-wrote the script and served as second unit director. The film stars Tim Robbins as a naïve but ambitious business scho ...
'' (1994) as an eccentric businessman, ''
The Big Lebowski
''The Big Lebowski'' () is a 1998 crime comedy film written, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker and avid bowler. He is assaulted as a result of mistaken ...
'' (1998) as a private detective and finally in 2001 as a flirtatious salesman in ''
The Man Who Wasn't There''.
Awards
Polito won an
Obie Award in 1980 for his theater performances off Broadway, and for his lifetime of work in film and television, he received the Maverick Spirit Event Award at
Cinequest Film Festival
The Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival is an annual independent film festival held each March in San Jose, California and Redwood City, California. The international festival combines the cinematic arts with Silicon Valley’s innovation. It is ...
in 2005. In 2012, he won the award for "Best Actor in a Short Film" at
Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival
The ''Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival'' (commonly abbreviated as "HRIFF") is a film festival with a focus on independent films held annually at L.A. Live / Staples Center and additional cinemas across Hollywood, California. HRIFF gues ...
.
Personal life
Polito was born on December 29, 1950 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to John and Delaida "Dee" (née Pompei) Polito. He had an older brother and sister, Rosemary Simpson and
Jack Polito, an
animator.
After acting at the West Philadelphia Catholic High School for Boys, he studied theater at
Villanova University
Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...
.
Polito was gay. He married fellow actor Darryl Armbruster on October 16, 2015, fifteen years after they first met.
He died, at age 65, from
multiple myeloma
Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone pain, an ...
on September 1, 2016,
at the City of Hope Hospital, where he was being treated.
Filmography
Film
Television
Video games
References
External links
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Grouchoreviews.com interview with Jon PolitoName Dropping with Jason Stuart interview with Jon Polito
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polito, Jon
1950 births
2016 deaths
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
Male actors from Philadelphia
American male film actors
American male stage actors
American male television actors
American male video game actors
American male voice actors
American people of Italian descent
Deaths from cancer in California
Deaths from multiple myeloma
American gay actors
LGBT people from Pennsylvania