{{Short description|American actor (1937–2024)}} {{Infobox person |name = Richard Foronjy | image = Publicity_Photo_of_Richard_Foronjy.jpg | caption = Publicity photo of Richard Foronjy |birth_date = {{birth date|1937|08|03}} |birth_place = [[Brooklyn, New York]], U.S. |death_date = {{death date and age|2024|05|19|1937|08|03}} |death_place = |occupation = Actor |years_active = 1973–2003 }}
'''Richard Edward Foronjy''' (August 3, 1937 – May 19, 2024) was an American film and television actor.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/140960089/|title=Foronjy|work=[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]|location=[[St. Louis, Missouri]]|date=February 4, 1987|access-date=December 20, 2021|page=89|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{Closed access}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/529813444/|title=Ex-con becomes successful Hollywood character actor|first=Vernon|last=Scott|work=The Tribune|location=[[Scranton, Pennsylvania]]|date=January 19, 1987|access-date=December 20, 2021|page=16|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{Closed access}}</ref>
==Early life== Foronjy was born in [[Brooklyn]], New York,<ref name ="variety"/> to an [[Armenian people|Armenian]] family on August 3, 1937.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/richard_foronjy|title=Richard Foronjy|work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=December 20, 2021}}</ref> Before becoming an actor, he had an extensive criminal record, including [[armed robbery]]. He also worked as a butcher.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/01/20/Scotts-WorldNEWLNFrom-felony-to-fame/1749538117200/|title=Scott's World;NEWLN:From felony to fame|work=[[United Press International]]|date=January 20, 1987|access-date=May 31, 2024}}</ref>
==Career== Foronjy saw his first small role as Corsaro in ''[[Serpico]]''.<ref name ="variety"/>
Foronjy was perhaps best known for playing the [[mobster]] Tony Darvo in the 1988 film ''[[Midnight Run]]'' and the mobster Peter Amadesso in the 1993 film ''[[Carlito's Way]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2021/05/charles-grodin-dead-robert-de-niro-tribute-midnight-run-1234759697/|title=Robert De Niro Remembers His 'Midnight Run' Co-Star Charles Grodin: "As Good A Person As He Was An Actor"|first=Erik|last=Pedersen|work=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|date=May 18, 2021|access-date=December 20, 2021}}</ref> He also played Detective Joe Marinaro in [[Sidney Lumet]]'s ''[[Prince of the City]]''.<ref name ="variety"/>
In ''[[Repo Man (film)|Repo Man]]'', Foronjy played Arnold Plettschner, the rent-a-cop who memorably said, "You’re fuckin’ right I'm Plettschner! Arnold Plettschner! Three times decorated in two world wars! I was killing people while you were still swimming around in your father's balls! You little scumbag! I worked five years in a slaughterhouse, and ten years as a prison guard in Attica!"<ref name ="variety"/>
Foronjy wrote and published a memoir, ''From the Mob to the Movies'', in 2020. In retirement, he lived in the [[Hudson Valley]] of New York.
==Death== Foronjy died on May 19, 2024, at the age of 86.<ref name="variety">{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2024/film/obituaries-people-news/richard-foronjy-dead-midnight-run-serpico-1236012180/|title=Richard Foronjy, Character Actor in 'Midnight Run' and 'Serpico,' Dies at 86|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=May 21, 2024|access-date=May 21, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/richard-foronjy-dead-criminal-character-actor-1235905793/|title=Richard Foronjy, Convicted Criminal Turned Character Actor, Dies at 86|first=Mike|last=Barnes|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=May 21, 2024|access-date=May 31, 2024}}</ref> At the [[97th Academy Awards]], his name was mentioned in the ''[[97th Academy Awards#"In Memoriam"|In Memoriam]]'' section.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aframe.oscars.org/news/in-memoriam|title=In Memoriam|work=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]]|access-date=March 2, 2025}}</ref>
== Partial filmography == {{Div col}} *''[[Serpico]]'' (1973) – Corsaro *''[[The Gambler (1974 film)|The Gambler]]'' (1974) – Donny *''[[Fun with Dick and Jane (1977 film)|Fun with Dick and Jane]]'' (1977) – Landscape Man *''[[The One Man Jury]]'' (1978) – Al *''[[Taxi (TV series)|Taxi]]'' (1978) ("A Full House for Christmas") - Louie's brother Nick *''[[The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh]]'' (1979) – Mike *''[[The Jerk]]'' (1979) – Con Man *''[[Prince of the City]]'' (1981) – Detective Joe Marinaro *''[[True Confessions (film)|True Confessions]]'' (1981) – Ambulance Driver *''[[Gangster Wars]]'' (1981) – Umberto Joe The Boss' Bodyguard (uncredited) *''[[Repo Man (film)|Repo Man]]'' (1984) – Plettschner *''[[Once Upon a Time in America]]'' (1984) – Officer Whitey aka Fartface *''[[City Heat]]'' (1984) – Poker Player *''[[Odd Jobs (1986 film)|Odd Jobs]]'' (1986) – Mannu *''The Check Is in the Mail...'' (1986) – Tony *''[[The Morning After (1986 film)|The Morning After]]'' (1986) – Sergeant Greenbaum *''The Galucci Brothers'' (1987) – Galucci Brother *''[[Midnight Run]]'' (1988) – Tony Darvo<ref>{{Cite web|first=Michael|last=Wilmington|title=Movie Review: Murderous Fun in the 'Midnight Run'|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-07-20-ca-5813-story.html|access-date=February 13, 2018|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=July 20, 1998|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623005649/http://articles.latimes.com/1988-07-20/entertainment/ca-5813_1_midnight-run|archive-date=June 23, 2015|url-status=live|via=[[Wayback Machine]]}}</ref> *''[[Ghostbusters II]]'' (1989) – Con Ed Supervisor *''[[Oscar (1991 film)|Oscar]]'' (1991) – Knucky *''[[The Public Eye (film)|The Public Eye]]'' (1992) – Frank Farinelli *''[[Fatal Instinct]]'' (1993) – Cy Tarr *''DaVinci's War'' (1993) – Hamlet *''[[Carlito's Way]]'' (1993) – Pete Amadesso *''[[Man of the House (1995 film)|Man of the House]]'' (1995) – Murray *''[[Recoil (1998 film)|Recoil]]'' (1998) – Vincent Sloan *''Hoods'' (1998) – Tony *''Evasive Action'' (1998) – Vince *''Boss Of Bosses'' (2001) - Tommy Bilotti {{div col end}}
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == *{{IMDb name|0286561}} *{{TCMDb name|64090%7C0}} *[https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/richard_foronjy/ Rotten Tomatoes profile]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Foronjy, Richard}} [[Category:1937 births]] [[Category:2024 deaths]] [[Category:Male actors from Brooklyn]] [[Category:American male film actors]] [[Category:American male television actors]] [[Category:20th-century American male actors]] [[Category:21st-century American male actors]] [[Category:American people of Armenian descent]]