David Stephen Caruso (born January 7, 1956) is a retired American actor and producer, best known for his roles as Detective John Kelly on the ABC

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and comb ...

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensembl ...

'' (1993–94) and

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

Horatio Caine on the CBS series ''

CSI: Miami ''CSI: Miami'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: Miami'') is an American police procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2002 until April 8, 2012 on CBS. Featuring David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Detec ...

'' (2002–2012). He appears in the feature films ''

An Officer and a Gentleman Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman (or conduct unbecoming for short) is an offense that is subject to court martial in the armed forces of some nations. Use in the United Kingdom The phrase was used as a charge in courts martial of t ...

'', ''

First Blood ''First Blood'' (also known as ''Rambo: First Blood'') is a 1982 American action film directed by Ted Kotcheff, and co-written by Sylvester Stallone, who also stars as Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. It co-stars Richard Crenna as Rambo's ment ...

'' (both 1982), ''

Twins Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...

'' (1988), ''

Kiss of Death Kiss of Death may refer to: * Kiss of Judas, Judas's betrayal of Jesus with a kiss identifying him to his executioners * Kiss of death (mafia), a Mafia signal that someone has been marked for execution Film and television * ''Kiss of Death'' ...

'' (1995) and '' Proof of Life'' (2000).

Early life

Caruso was born in Forest Hills,

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, the son of Joan, a

librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time ...

, and Charles Caruso, a magazine and

newspaper editor An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

. He is of Irish and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

descent. His father left the family when David was two years old, resulting in him to "end up fathering myself". Raised as a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, Caruso attended Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Catholic School in Forest Hills, then

Archbishop Molloy High School Archbishop Molloy High School (also called Molloy, Archbishop Molloy, or AMHS) is a co-educational, college preparatory, Catholic school for grades 9-12, located on on 83-53 Manton Street, Briarwood, Queens, New York. It is part of the Roman Cat ...

in nearby Briarwood, graduating in 1974. Caruso worked as a cinema

usher Usher may refer to: Several jobs which originally involved directing people and ensuring people are in the correct place: * Usher (occupation) ** Church usher ** Wedding usher, one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony ** F ...

, where he would see up to 80 movies a week. He said that he and his co-workers would act out scenes from some of these movies while they were at the back of the theater. In this job he found his

role model A role model is a person whose behaviour, example, or success is or can be emulated by others, especially by younger people. The term ''role model'' is credited to sociologist Robert K. Merton, who hypothesized that individuals compare themselves ...

s in

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film In ...

James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor, dancer and film director. On stage and in film, Cagney was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He ...

and

Edward G. Robinson Edward G. Robinson (born Emanuel Goldenberg; December 12, 1893January 26, 1973) was a Romanian-American actor of stage and screen, who was popular during the Hollywood's Golden Age. He appeared in 30 Broadway plays and more than 100 films duri ...

. He said:

"The ethics of certain actors certainly had a power over me. These guys taught me how to be what I consider the real scum of the earth."

Career

1980s

Caruso's first movie appearance was in the 1980 film ''Getting Wasted'' as Danny. He credits his role as Topper Daniels, "the cadet who nearly drowned", in ''

'' (1982) as what got him noticed. Brady, James
"In Step With David Caruso (TV and film actor)"
, ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of s ...

'', March 6, 2005. accessed June 2, 2009. Caruso then spent most of the decade in supporting roles in films including ''

'' (1982), '' Blue City'' (1986), '' China Girl'' (1987) and ''

'' (1988). On television, Caruso had a recurring role as Tommy Mann, leader of the street gang The Shamrocks, in seven episodes of the

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 ...

police drama series ''

Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the staff of a single police station loca ...

'' (1981–83). He portrayed

U.S. Olympian United States of America (USA) has sent athletes to every celebration of the modern era Olympic Games, except for the 1980 Summer Olympics, during which it led a boycott to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. American athletes have won ...

James Brendan Connolly James Brendan Bennet "Jamie" Connolly ( ga, Séamas Breandán Ó Conghaile, October 28, 1868 – January 20, 1957) was an American athlete and author. In 1896, he was the first modern Olympic champion. Early life Connolly was born to po ...

in the 1984

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

, '' The First Olympics: Athens 1896'', and also appeared in two episodes of the series '' Crime Story''. Caruso featured in the

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

for the song " Voyage, voyage" by the French singer

Desireless Claudie Fritsch-Mentrop (born 25 December 1952), known by her stage name Desireless (), is a French singer. Between 1986 and 1988, her hit single "Voyage, voyage" made it to number one on many European and Asian single charts. According to ...

, released in 1986.

1990s

Caruso had supporting roles as police officers in the crime films ''

King of New York ''King of New York'' is a 1990 neo-noir gangster film directed by Abel Ferrara and written by Nicholas St. John. It stars Christopher Walken as a New York City drug kingpin rebuilding his criminal empire after his release from prison, while al ...

'' (1990) and ''

Mad Dog and Glory ''Mad Dog and Glory'' is a 1993 American crime comedy-drama film directed by John McNaughton and starring Robert De Niro, Uma Thurman, and Bill Murray, and supporting roles from well known actors Richard Belzer and David Caruso as De Niro's par ...

'' (1993). While filming 1991's '' Hudson Hawk'', he employed

method acting Method acting, informally known as The Method, is a range of training and rehearsal techniques, as formulated by a number of different theatre practitioners, that seeks to encourage sincere and expressive performances through identifying with, u ...

, refusing to talk to anyone on set because his character, Kit-Kat, was mute, having had his tongue bitten off. In 1993, Caruso landed his first major role as Detective John Kelly in the

police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eit ...

series ''

'', for which he won a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

. ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporat ...

'' named him as one of the six new stars to watch in the 1993–1994 season. He made news by leaving the highly rated show the following year (only four episodes into the second season) after failing to obtain the raise he wanted. His decision to leave the series would later be listed in a 2010 issue of ''TV Guide'' as #6 on a list of TV's 10 biggest "blunders". He was unable to establish himself as a leading man in films. His appearances in the 1995 thrillers ''

'' and ''

Jade Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group ...

'' were met with a negative reception from critics, with both films receiving mixed reviews and poor box-office takings, and Caruso was nominated for the

Golden Raspberry Award for Worst New Star The Razzie Award for Worst New Star was an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards to the worst new actor or actress of the previous year. History From 1982 to 1989 and again from 1991 to 1999. The category has since been discontinu ...

for these two roles. In 1997, Caruso returned to television as a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

-based federal prosecutor in the short-lived CBS law drama series '' Michael Hayes'', which aired for one season.

2000s

Caruso returned to film with a supporting role as

Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor. He was born in New Zealand, spent ten years of his childhood in Australia, and moved there permanently at age twenty one. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maxi ...

's mercenary associate in '' Proof of Life'' (2000). In 2001, he had a lead role in the cult

psychological horror Psychological horror is a subgenre of horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. The subgenre frequently overlaps with the related subge ...

film ''

Session 9 ''Session 9'' is a 2001 American psychological horror film directed by Brad Anderson and written by Anderson and Stephen Gevedon. The film stars David Caruso, Peter Mullan, Brendan Sexton III, Josh Lucas, and Gevedon as an asbestos abatement c ...

'', directed by Brad Anderson.

Dave Kehr David Kehr (born 1953) is an American museum curator and film critic. For many years a critic at the '' Chicago Reader'' and the ''Chicago Tribune,'' he later wrote a weekly column for ''The New York Times'' on DVD releases. He later became a ...

, writing in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', praises his performance, stating that "it is good to see David Caruso back in action, with a little more technique and a little less ego." David Caruso waiting

In 2002, Caruso returned to television in his first successful role since ''NYPD Blue'', starring as police Lieutenant Horatio Caine in the '' CSI'' spin-off series ''

''. He was the first actor in the franchise to appear as the same character on three of the four '' CSI'' programs. He was known for frequently using one-liners at the beginning of each episode. Many of these include him putting on his trademark sunglasses mid-sentence, then walking off-screen just as the main theme starts. On an episode of the ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production ...

'' that aired on March 8, 2007, actor and comedian

Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy t ...

professed to being a fan of the show and went on to do an impersonation of Caruso, asking for an "intense close-up" from the camera, speaking in a raspy voice and putting on sunglasses. Caruso later said in an interview with CBS that he was impressed with the impersonation. In 2012, ''CSI: Miami'' was cancelled after 10 seasons due to a decline in ratings and the climbing cost of production. Caruso was the only actor to appear in all 232 episodes of the series.

After acting

After ''CSI: Miami'', Caruso quietly retired from acting and became involved in the art business. Caruso is founder of DavidCarusoTelevision.tv and LexiconDigital.tv. He is co-owner of Steam on Sunset, a clothing store in South Miami.

Personal life

Caruso has a daughter, Greta, with his second wife, actress Rachel Ticotin. He and former girlfriend Liza Marquez have two children together: a son Marquez and a daughter Paloma. In April 2009, Marquez filed papers against Caruso for fraud, breach of their settlement agreement and emotional distress. In March 2009, a woman was placed in custody in

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, on charges of

stalking Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The term ...

Caruso. She had twice failed to appear in court to answer the charges before fleeing to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

. Following her deportation from Mexico, Austrian officials took her into custody to await trial on the stalking charges.

Awards and nominations

In 1994, Caruso won a

for his John Kelly role on ''

'' for which he was also nominated for a

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Beginning with the 18th Primetime Emmy Awards, leading actors in drama have competed alone. However, these dramatic performances incl ...

. In 2001, he was nominated for the Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actor – Suspense for his role as Dino in the film '' Proof of Life''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* *
David Caruso Bio at CBS - CSI: Miami
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caruso, David 1956 births Male actors from New York City American male film actors American businesspeople American people of Irish descent American people of Italian descent American male television actors Archbishop Molloy High School alumni Best Drama Actor Golden Globe (television) winners Living people People from Forest Hills, Queens 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors