Joe Santos

About Joe Santos

Who is it?: Actor
Birth Day: June 09, 1931
Birth Place:  Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States
Died On: March 18, 2016(2016-03-18) (aged 84)\nSanta Monica, California, U.S.
Birth Sign: Cancer
Occupation: Actor
Years active: 1963–2010
Spouse(s): Maria Montero (m. 1958–1988; her death)
Partner(s): Nancy Hobson
Children: 3, including Perry Santos

Joe Santos Net Worth

Joe Santos was born on June 09, 1931 in  Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States, is Actor. Brooklyn-born actor of Italian descent, Joe Santos started out a football jock at Fordham University and turned semi-pro before finding a new avenue in acting. Success was long in coming, and he paid his dues for years in a number of blue-collar jobs including railroad worker, tree trimmer, cabbie and barkeep while taking acting classes. A soap opera job and work in his cousin Joseph W. Sarno's cheap jack film exploitations (Flesh and Lace (1965), Moonlighting Wives (1966) and My Body Hungers (1967)) in the '60s seemed to lead nowhere. His first real break came with the searing film downer The Panic in Needle Park (1971), getting a part at the urging of his friend and star of the film, the up-and-coming Al Pacino, who had played some softball with Santos. A prime role as a sympathetic sergeant in the acclaimed TV mini-series The Blue Knight (1973) led Santos in the direction of "good cop" parts, with a long-running role as James Garner's long-suffering friend Lt. Becker on the series The Rockford Files (1974) (1974-80). Other series roles in Me and Maxx (1980), a.k.a. Pablo (1984)--as Paul Rodriguez's dad--and Lt. Harper in the 1985-86 season of Hardcastle and McCormick (1983) kept him busy. Missing out on the one big role that might have put him on the map, the beefy and balding Santos remains a durable and reliable supporting player, getting some deserved notice in 2004 with his recurring role of "Consigliere Angelo Garepe" in the hit hit man series Gia Dinh Sopranos (1999). He has also dabbled in playwriting, having penned "Sunset Normandie", in which he also starred.
Joe Santos is a member of Actor

💰 Net worth: Under Review

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Biography/Timeline

1931

Born in Brooklyn on June 9, 1931, the same day his father died. His mother Rose (née Sarno), sold olive oil and eventually became a nightclub owner and singer in New York City and Havana. She later married Puerto Rican-born Daniel Santos, and Joe took his name.

1958

In 1958, Santos met and married Maria Montero while he was in Cuba.

1971

Santos was a football player at Fordham University, and even turned semi-pro, before finding a new avenue in acting. He struggled in show Business, and worked blue-collar jobs until his friend Al Pacino helped him get a role in the 1971 movie The Panic in Needle Park.

1974

From 1974–1980, Santos played LAPD Sergeant (later Lieutenant) Dennis Becker, the friend of the easy going ex-convict-turned-private investigator Jim Rockford (played by James Garner) in The Rockford Files, and Lt. Frank Harper in the TV series Hardcastle and McCormick (1985–86).

1980

In 1980, Santos played Norman Davis in the NBC comedy Me and Maxx. In 1984, he portrayed Domingo Rivera on the ABC comedy A.K.A. Pablo.

2004

He had brief parts in several lesser-known films, and made a number of guest appearances on television shows throughout his acting career, frequently in the stock character role of a police officer. He also appeared on The Sopranos as Angelo Garepe in seven 2004 episodes. From 1978-80 Santos appeared on the CBS game show The Match Game, always sitting in the top left seat. He appeared in numerous episodes and was usually comic foil to Brett Somers.

2016

Santos had a heart attack in March 2016 and died a few days later at the age of 84.