It’s sad to say, but death seems to be working overtime as we close out 2023. Following the news that beloved character actor Tom Wilkinson has passed away, come the passing of two more well-loved supporting players in TV and film. Richard Romanus, who played the role of loan shark Michael Longo in Mean Streets, passed away at the age of 80 on December 23rd. Meanwhile, Maurice Hines, the brother of Gregory Hines, has also passed away, also at 80.
Although Richard Romanus had a lengthy career that went back to the early ‘70s, it was his turn in Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets that remained his most memorable performance. It was his character who, after a run-in with Robert De Niro’s Johnny Boy (who owed Michael money), manned the car that drove up alongside Johnny Boy and Harvey Keitel’s Charlie, leading to the shooting of the loose cannon.
Richard Romanus would later work with Keitel again in 1993’s Point of No Return, well into his career as an actor who explored both drama and comedy. He followed up Mean Streets with crime comedy The Gravy Train before co-headlining the pretty strong TV movie Night Terror with Valerie Harper. Romanus, too, was an adept voice actor, lending his talents to Ralph Bakshi for both 1977’s Wizards as elf warrior Weehawk and 1982’s Hey Good Lookin’ as gang leader Vinnie, as well as 1981’s sci-fi must-see Heavy Metal as segment-starring Harry Canyon.He was also the older brother of Robert Romanus, best known for playing Mike Damone in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
As for Maurice Hines, while he was never as big of a star as his younger brother Gregory, he has a long and distinguished career on stage as a tap dancer and choreographer. He memorably co-starred with his brother in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Cotton Club as one half of a tap dancing duo. Apparently, their fraught, competitive (but ultimately loving) relationship in the film paralleled their off-screen life. One thing worth noting is that Francis Ford Coppola recently went back and recut the film. The new version, The Cotton Club Redux, greatly enhances Maurice Hines’ role, with many saying retrospectively that both he and his late brother (who tragically died in 2003) gave Oscar-worthy turns. I’m inclined to agree with his tap duet with his brother to Crazy Rhythm, a heartbreaking showstopper. See for yourself here: