IMDB

Actor

1950-12-29 · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA · Male

61 series in the catalog

Jon Raymond Polito (December 29, 1950 – September 1, 2016) was an American actor. In a film and television career spanning 35 years, he amassed over 220 credits. His television roles included Detective Steve Crosetti in the first two seasons of Homicide: Life on the Street and Phil Bartoli on the first season of Crime Story. He also appeared in several films including The Rocketeer, The Crow and Gangster Squad, as well as his work with the Coen brothers. He appeared in five of their films, including Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink and The Big Lebowski. Polito also portrayed hungry i nightclub impresario Enrico Banducci in a large supporting role in Tim Burton's 2014 film Big Eyes starring Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz.

Early life

Polito was born on December 29, 1950, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to John and Delaida "Dee" (née Pompei) Polito. He had an older sister and brother, Rosemary Simpson and Jack Polito, an animator. After acting at the West Philadelphia Catholic High School for Boys, he studied theater at Villanova University.

Career

Homicide: Life on the Street

Polito was initially reluctant to audition for Homicide as he had just relocated from New York City to Los Angeles, and did not want to move to Baltimore for the series. He was initially offered a role as a Polish-American detective, but series co-creators Barry Levinson and Tom Fontana rewrote the character as an Italian named Steve Crosetti and cast him in the role. The Polish detective was also rewritten, becoming Detective Meldrick Lewis, and was played by African-American actor Clark Johnson.

The show was rating poorly and the producers were under pressure from NBC to include a new female character (Megan Russert) in the hope of gaining broader appeal. As a result, they decided to write out Polito's character at the end of Season 2. Fontana assured him that he would be brought back later in the season, but Polito was unhappy and criticized the producers publicly, an action he later said that he regretted. The outburst caused a rift with Fontana, and the Crosetti character was killed off early in Season 3, with the explanation that the detective had committed suicide. This further infuriated Polito, who again complained to the media, triggering a public dispute with Fontana. Interviewed about the situation in 2005, Polito expressed regret for his handling of the matter. He said that he and Fontana had subsequently reconciled, and as a result the Crosetti character returned to make a farewell appearance as a spirit in Homicide: The Movie.

Coen brothers collaboration

Polito was a regular in the films of the Coen brothers, appearing in five of their films. The Coens had seen Polito in the New York stage adaptation of Death of a Salesman in 1986 playing Howard Wagner. They approached him to play the part of The Dane in Miller's Crossing (1990), but after reading the script he turned them down saying he would only play the Italian gangster Johnny Caspar. The Coens auditioned several other actors but eventually used Polito after they made him read his entire role cold.

He was offered the role of Lou Breeze in their next film Barton Fink (1991), in a role which was written especially for him. Again he turned down the Coens' offer, saying he wanted to play the part of film producer Jack Lipnick. Actress Frances McDormand persuaded him to take the role, saying it would change his career. He later appeared in The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) as an eccentric businessman, The Big Lebowski (1998) as a private detective and finally in 2001 as a flirtatious salesman in The Man Who Wasn't There.

Personal life

Polito was gay and married fellow actor Darryl Armbruster on October 16, 2015, fifteen years after they first met.

Death

Polito was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2010. He fell into a coma and later was taken off life support on September 1, 2016 at the City of Hope National Medical Center, where he was being treated. He was 65 years old.

Awards

Polito won an Obie Award in 1980 for his theater performances off Broadway, and for his lifetime of work in film and television, he received the Maverick Spirit Award at Cinequest Film Festival in 2005. In 2012, he won the award for "Best Actor in a Short Film" at Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival.

Jon Polito's channel on YouTube

Grouchoreviews.com interview with Jon Polito Archived July 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine

Name Dropping with Jason Stuart interview with Jon Polito at the Internet Archive