Reni Santoni, Dirty Harry actor and Poppie in Seinfeld, dies at 81

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Reni Santoni, best known by most for playing Poppie in Seinfeld and for appearing in DIRTY HARRY alongside Clint Eastwood, sadly passed away on August 1 at the age of 81.

The news broke via a Facebook post written by his friend and TV-writer-producer Tracy Newman. According to the post, Santoni passed away on Saturday morning and he had been "sick for quite a while.":

"Those of you who knew him know how funny he was, what a terrific actor, improviser, performer, etc. So brilliant. I loved him very much and will miss him terribly. Another great one is gone. I have a lot of wonderful pictures of him, and will post them over the next week. My heart goes out to his son, Nick, who has been such a comfort to Reni over the past five years or more."

Santoni built his career in acting from off-Broadway theatre, starring in The Umbrella and The Mad Show. The first significant film role of his acting career was an uncredited appearance in the 1964 film THE PAWNBROKER. His first leading role would come in ENTER LAUGHING in 1967 and other film credits came with his roles as inspector Chico Gonzalez in DIRTY HARRY, prison official Ramon Herrera in 1983's BAD BOYS, and Sylvester Stallone's partner Tony Gonzales in 1986's COBRA.

'90s sitcom fans discovered Santoni once again when the actor took on the role of Poppie, the unhygienic restaurateur on Seinfeld. Santoni also had a recurring role as one of Arthur Hill's assistants during the final season of ABC's Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law and he appeared alongside Sandra Bullock as Daniel in 2000's 28 DAYS.

2020 is not being kind as another great performer has left us this year. Santoni is survived by his wife and stage director, Lisa James, and son, Nick. Our deepest condolences go out to his family, friends, and fans.