Joe Santos

Joe Santos
Santos in 2009
Born
Joseph John Minieri Jr.

(1931-06-09)June 9, 1931
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedMarch 18, 2016(2016-03-18) (aged 84)
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Alma materFordham University
OccupationActor
Years active1963–2010
Spouse
Maria Montero
​
​
(m. 1958; died 1988)​
PartnerNancy Hobson
Children3, including Perry Santos
RelativesDaniel Santos (step-father)
Joseph W. Sarno (cousin)

Joseph John Santos (née Minieri Jr.; June 9, 1931 – March 18, 2016) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as Police Sgt. (later Lt.) Dennis Becker on the NBC television series The Rockford Files (1974–80), which earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

Early life and education

Santos was born Joseph Minieri Jr. to Italian American parents in Brooklyn on June 9, 1931. He was born the same day his father died.[1] His mother Rose (née Sarno), sold olive oil and eventually became a nightclub owner and singer in New York City and Havana. She later married Puerto Rican singer Daniel Santos, and Joe took his name.[2] Santos' cousin was sexploitation filmmaker Joseph W. Sarno, who would go on to give him some of his earliest film roles.

During the Korean War, Santos served in the United States Army.[1] He was a football player at Fordham University, and even turned semi-pro, before finding a new avenue in acting. He struggled in show business, and worked blue-collar jobs until his friend Al Pacino helped him get a role in the 1971 movie The Panic in Needle Park.[2]

Career

Film

Santos had roles in a number of notable films of the early 1970s, including The Panic in Needle Park (1971), The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (1971), as the leader of a slave-catching posse in the western The Legend of Nigger Charley (1972), Shaft's Big Score! (1972), as a policeman in Shamus (1973), The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973), The Don Is Dead (1973), Blade (1973) and Zandy's Bride (1974).

More than two decades later he appeared in the big budget Kevin Costner flop, The Postman (1997).

Television

From 1974 to 1980, Santos played LAPD Sergeant (later Lieutenant) Dennis Becker, the friend of the easy-going private investigator Jim Rockford (played by James Garner) in The Rockford Files.[3] The role earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 1979.[4] He reprised the Dennis Becker role in eight The Rockford Files television movies (1994-1999).

He portrayed Lt. Frank Harper in the TV series Hardcastle and McCormick (1985–86).

Santos appeared in various television movies during the 1970s and 1980s, including Nightside (1973), The Blue Knight (1973), The Girl on the Late, Late Show (1974), A Matter of Wife... and Death (1975), Power (1980), The Hustler of Muscle Beach (1980), The Selling of Vince D'Angelo (1983), and The Ratings Game (1984). His character was often a police detective or lieutenant. He portrayed Marty Sinatra, Frank's father, in the four-part 1992 television miniseries Sinatra.

In 1980, Santos played Norman Davis in the short-lived (10 episodes) NBC comedy Me and Maxx.[5]: 675  In 1984, he portrayed Domingo Rivera on the ABC comedy a.k.a. Pablo, which was cancelled after six episodes.[5]

Santos (second in the center) with Bert Rosario, Paul Rodriguez and Arnaldo Santana in a.k.a. Pablo, 1984

Santos made guest appearances on television shows throughout his acting career, including Room 222, Toma, Barnaby Jones, The Streets of San Francisco, Kung Fu, Baretta, Lou Grant, Police Story (in 8 episodes), Black Sheep Squadron, Trapper John, M.D. , The Greatest American Hero, Hill Street Blues (in 3 episodes), The A-Team, Remington Steele, T. J. Hooker, Hardcastle and McCormick (in 10 episodes), MacGyver (in 2 episodes), Magnum P.I. (in 5 episodes), Murder, She Wrote (in 2 episodes), Miami Vice, Quantum Leap, Santa Barbara (in 5 episodes), Hunter (in 2 episodes), and NYPD Blue.

From 1978 to 1980 he appeared on the CBS game show Match Game, always sitting in the top left seat.

Santos also appeared on The Sopranos as Angelo Garepe in seven 2004 episodes.

Personal life

In 1958, Santos met and married Maria Montero while he was in Cuba. They were married 30 years until her death in 1988.[1]

Death

Santos died in Santa Monica, California on March 18, 2016, two days after suffering a heart attack at the age of 84.[2][6]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1964 Warm Nights and Hot Pleasures Dick Directed by his cousin, Joe Sarno[7]
Flesh and Lace Julian Shop Owner
1966 Moonlighting Wives Det. Hank
1967 The Tiger Makes Out Man At Housing Authority Uncredited
My Body Hungers Truck Driver Also directed by Sarno
1968 The Detective Reporter Uncredited
1971 The Panic in Needle Park Det. DiBono
The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight Ezmo
1972 The Legend of Nigger Charley Reverend
Shaft's Big Score! Pascal
1973 Shamus Lt. Promuto
The Friends of Eddie Coyle Artie Van
The Don Is Dead Joe Lucci
Blade Spinelli
1974 Zandy's Bride Frank Gallo
1983 Blue Thunder Montoya
1984 Fear City Frank
1986 The Education of Allison Tate Det. Duncan
1989 Beverly Hills Brats 'Spyder'
1990 Revenge Ibarra
1991 The Last Boy Scout Lt. Ben Bessalo
1992 Mo' Money Lt. Raymond Walsh
1994 Trial by Jury Johnny Verona
Art Deco Detective Det. Guy Lean
1997 The Postman Colonel Getty
1998 The Right Way Paulie Rizzo
2000 Auggie Rose Emanuel
Hammerlock Warden Stan Cromwell
2001 Proximity Clive Plummer
The Man from Elysian Fields Domenico
2009 Baseline Bashir Abu Ahmed
2010 Dead Genesis Jason
2015 Chronic Isaac Sr.

Television

Awards and nominations

Ceremony Category Work Result Ref.
31st Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series The Rockford Files Nominated [4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Lentz, Harris M. III (2017). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2016. McFarland. pp. 347–348. ISBN 978-1-4766-7031-7. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 Weber, Bruce (March 18, 2016). "Joe Santos, a Mainstay of 'The Rockford Files,' Dies at 84". The New York Times. p. A22.
  3. ↑ Brady, Susan Doukas (July 11, 2012). Bob: An Actor's Mentor : Tales, Oservations & Notes. Susan Doukas Brady. p. 36. ISBN 978-1-61927-060-2.
  4. 1 2 "Joe Santos | Emmy Awards and Nominations". Television Academy. Retrieved July 11, 2026.
  5. 1 2 Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company. pp. 21–22. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
  6. ↑ McClendon, Lamarco (March 18, 2016). "Joe Santos, 'The Rockford Files' Actor, Dies at 84". Variety.
  7. ↑ "Warm Nights and Hot Pleasures (1964)". AllMovie. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
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