SO LONG, RENI SANTONI...

You were funny (and sloppy) as "Seinfeld'"s Poppi, but there were so many other personas you projected, Mr. Santoni, with so many variations among so many pleasing genres.

On the small screen, you occupied not only the aforementioned sitcom sensation, but the "Odd Couple"; "NYPD  Blue"; "Hill Street Blues": "Hawaii 5-O"; "Lou Grant"; "Hardcastle and McCormick"; "Barnaby Jones"; "Owen Marshall"; "Murder, She Wrote"; "Midnight Caller"; and had ongoing roles on the short-lived but no less memorable "Sanchez of Bel Air" and "Manimal". 

On the big screen, you gave significant support to "Dirty Harry" (as Inspector Chico Gonzalez) and "Cobra" (as Detective Tony Gonzales); and rode high in "Guns of the Magnificent Seven"; "Anzio"; "The Package"; "The Pawnbroker"; "Bad Boys '83"; "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden"; "The Student Nurses"; "Radioactive Dreams"; "Groundhog Day"; "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid"; "Enter Laughing"; "The Late Shift"; "Summer Rental"; "Brewster's Millions '85"; "Doctor Doolittle '98"; and "Dr. Doolittle 2" (voicing a rat, of all scruffy things, for the latter set.)

You were good-natured, hard-hitting, quick-witted and dry-humored: an effective combination for those many avenues you traveled. Your work will hold its own with that of the greatest character actors, from whom we all know the most substantial seasonings always blossom.