Richard Edward Foronjy (August 3, 1937 – May 19, 2024) was an American film and television actor.

Early life

Foronjy was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York, on August 3, 1937. Prior to becoming an actor, Foronjy had an extensive criminal record, including

armed robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person o ...

. He also worked as a butcher.

Career

Foronjy saw his first small role as Corsaro in ''

Serpico ''Serpico'' is a 1973 American biographical crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Al Pacino in the title role. The screenplay was adapted by Waldo Salt and Norman Wexler from the book written by Peter Maas, with the assistan ...

''. Foronjy was perhaps best known for playing the

mobster A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level ...

Tony Darvo in the 1988 film ''

Midnight Run ''Midnight Run'' is a 1988 American action comedy film directed by Martin Brest from a screenplay by George Gallo. It stars Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Yaphet Kotto, John Ashton (actor), John Ashton, Dennis Farina and Joe Pantoliano. In the ...

'' and the mobster Peter Amadesso in the 1993 film ''

Carlito's Way ''Carlito's Way'' is a 1993 American crime drama film directed by Brian De Palma and written by David Koepp, based on the novels '' Carlito's Way'' (1975) and '' After Hours'' (1979) by Judge Edwin Torres. It stars Al Pacino, Sean Penn, Penelop ...

''. He also played one of the key parts, Detective Joe Marinaro, in

Sidney Lumet Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. Lumet started his career in theatre before moving to film, where he gained a reputation for making realistic and gritty New York City, New York dramas w ...

's ''

Prince of the City ''Prince of the City'' is a 1981 American epic neo-noir crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet. It is based on the life of Robert Leuci, called ‘Daniel Ciello’ in the film, an officer of the New York Police Department who chooses, for id ...

''. In '' Repo Man'', starring

Harry Dean Stanton Harry Dean Stanton (July 14, 1926 – September 15, 2017) was an American actor. In a career that spanned more than six decades, Stanton played supporting roles in films including ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), '' Kelly's Heroes'' (1970), '' Dilling ...

, Foronjy played Arnold Plettschner, the rent-a-cop who memorably said, "You’re fuckin’ right I’m Plettschner! Arnold Plettschner! Three times decorated in two world wars! I was killing people while you were still swimming around in your father’s balls! You little scumbag! I worked five years in a slaughterhouse, and ten years as a prison guard in Attica!" Foronjy wrote and published a memoir called ''From the Mob to the Movies'' on October 8, 2020. In retirement, he lived in the

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley or Hudson River Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The region stretches from the Capital District (New York), Capital District includi ...

of New York.

Death

Foronjy died on May 19, 2024, at the age of 86.{{cite web, url=https://variety.com/2024/film/obituaries-people-news/richard-foronjy-dead-midnight-run-serpico-1236012180/, title=Richard Foronjy, Character Actor in ‘Midnight Run’ and ‘Serpico,’ Dies at 86, website=

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

, date=May 21, 2024, access-date=May 21, 2024 At the

97th Academy Awards The 97th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 2, 2025, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the gala, the AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly r ...

, his name was mentioned in the '' In Memoriam'' section.

Partial filmography

{{Div col *''

'' (1973) – Corsaro *'' The Gambler'' (1974) – Donny *'' Fun with Dick and Jane'' (1977) – Landscape Man *''

The One Man Jury ''The One Man Jury'' (released as ''The Loner'' on UK video) is a 1978 American neo-noir film directed by Charles Martin (1910-1983) and starring Jack Palance, Christopher Mitchum, Pamela Shoop, and Cara Williams. Plot Jim Wade ( Jack Palance ...

'' (1978) – Al *''

The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh ''The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh'' is a 1979 American sports/fantasy comedy film directed by Gilbert Moses and coproduced by David Dashev and Gary Stromberg. It was produced by Lorimar and distributed by United Artists. The film was shot on lo ...

'' (1979) – Mike *''

The Jerk ''The Jerk'' is a 1979 American comedy film directed by Carl Reiner and written by Steve Martin, Carl Gottlieb, and Michael Elias (from a story by Martin and Gottlieb). This was Martin's first starring role in a feature film. The film also f ...

'' (1979) – Con Man *''

'' (1981) – Detective Joe Marinaro *'' True Confessions'' (1981) – Ambulance Driver *'' Gangster Wars'' (1981) – Umberto Joe The Boss' Bodyguard (uncredited) *'' Repo Man'' (1984) – Plettschner *''

Once Upon a Time in America ''Once Upon a Time in America'' () is a 1984 epic crime film co-written and directed by Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone, and starring Robert De Niro and James Woods. The film is an Italian–American venture produced by The Ladd Company, Emb ...

'' (1984) – Officer Whitey aka Fartface *''

City Heat ''City Heat'' is a 1984 American buddy- crime comedy film starring Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds, written by Blake Edwards and directed by Richard Benjamin. The film was released in North America in December 1984. The pairing of Eastwood an ...

'' (1984) – Poker Player *'' Odd Jobs'' (1986) – Mannu *''The Check Is in the Mail...'' (1986) – Tony *'' The Morning After'' (1986) – Sergeant Greenbaum *''The Galucci Brothers'' (1987) – Galucci Brother *''

'' (1988) – Tony Darvo{{Cite web, first=Michael, last=Wilmington, title=Movie Review: Murderous Fun in the 'Midnight Run', url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-07-20-ca-5813-story.html, access-date=February 13, 2018, work=

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

, date=July 20, 1998, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623005649/http://articles.latimes.com/1988-07-20/entertainment/ca-5813_1_midnight-run, archive-date=June 23, 2015, url-status=live, via=

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by Internet Archive, an American nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California. Launched for public access in 2001, the service allows users to go "back in ...

*''

Ghostbusters II ''GhostbustersII'' is a 1989 American Supernatural fiction, supernatural comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Ramis, Rick Moranis, Ernie Hudson ...

'' (1989) – Con Ed Supervisor *''

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

'' (1991) – Knucky *'' The Public Eye'' (1992) – Frank Farinelli *'' Fatal Instinct'' (1993) – Cy Tarr *''DaVinci's War'' (1993) – Hamlet *''

'' (1993) – Pete Amadesso *'' Man of the House'' (1995) – Murray *''

Recoil Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, for according to Newton's third law the force requ ...

'' (1998) – Vincent Sloan *''Hoods'' (1998) – Tony *''Evasive Action'' (1998) – Vince {{div col end

References

{{reflist

External links

*{{IMDb name, 0286561 *{{TCMDb name, 64090%7C0
Rotten Tomatoes profile
{{Authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Foronjy, Richard 1937 births 2024 deaths Male actors from Brooklyn American male film actors American male television actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors