Richard Romanus, ‘Mean Streets’ & ‘The Sopranos’ Actor, Dies at 80

Richard Romanus, who made memorable turns in Mean Streets and The Sopranos, has died at age 80.

The actor passed away in a private hospital in Volos, Greece, on December 23, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

In 1973’s Mean Streets, directed and co-written by Martin Scorsese, Romanus played Michael, the loan shark who clashed with ne’er-do-well Johnny Boy (Robert De Niro).

In the Andy Dougan book Untouchable: Robert De Niro, Scorsese recalled filming the profanity-laden confrontation between Johnny and Michael.

“Something had happened between Bobby and Richard because the animosity between them in that scene is real, and I played on it,” the director said, per THR. “They had gotten on each other’s nerves to the point where I think they really wanted to kill each other. I kept shooting take after take of Bobby yelling all these insults while the crew was getting very upset.”

Two and a half decades later, Romanus returned to the crime drama genre with a role in HBO’s The Sopranos as Richard La Penna, ex-husband of Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco).

Born in Vermont and raised in Connecticut, Romanus graduated with a degree in philosophy from Ohio’s Xavier University in 1964 and briefly studied law before becoming an actor trained under Lee Strasberg, THR reports.

Buena Vista/Courtesy: Everett Collection

During the 1970s, Romanus appeared in episodes of Mission: Impossible, Mod Squad, Rhoda, Kojak, Charlie’s Angels, Starsky & Hutch, Hawaii Five-O, and The Rockford Files.

The following decade, Romanus took supporting roles in the TV series Foul Play, an ABC adventure comedy starring Deborah Raffin and Barry Bostwick, and Strike Force, an ABC cop drama starring Robert Stack. He also appeared in MacGyver, The A-Team, and Cagney & Lacey, playing multiple characters in each.

In his last screen appearance, the actor played Ben Ishak in the 2003 film The Young Black Stallion, as pictured above.

Off-screen, Romanus was married to actress-singer Tina Bohlmann from 1967 to 1975 and costume designer Anthea Sylbert from 1985 until his death.