Joseph Peter Spano (born July 7, 1946) is an American actor best known
for his roles as Lt. Henry Goldblume on Hill Street Blues, FBI Special
Agent Tobias C. Fornell on NCIS, and as the original voice of
Pasqually the Chef from Chuck E Cheese.Spano was a member of the San
Francisco improv group The Wing, and in college debuted as Paris in a
production of Romeo and Juliet in 1967. In 1968, he helped found the
Berkeley Repertory Theatre, appearing in its first production, and
stayed with the company for 10 years. He moved to Hollywood in the
late 1970s, landing guest spots on TV and bit roles in American
Graffiti (1973) and The Enforcer (1976).In Hill Street Blues he played
Henry Goldblume during the entire seven-year run of the series, first
as a detective sergeant, later as a lieutenant. Goldblume was one of
Hill Street Precinct Captain Frank Furillo's trusted junior officers,
serving at times as a hostage negotiator and gangs relations officer.
The character was sympathetic to crime victims, sometimes coming in
conflict with his duties as a police officer. Spano was one of many
actors appearing through each episode, which typically had several
interwoven story lines.After Hill Street Blues ended, Spano won
recurring roles in television police shows Murder One (1995) and NYPD
Blue (1993), again as a detective, and has appeared regularly in
television movies and television shows like The X-Files (episodes
"Tempus Fugit" and "Max"), Mercy Point and Amazing Grace. Spano won an
Emmy award in 1988 for Best Guest Actor in a Drama Series for a role
he played in an episode of Midnight Caller. He has appeared in several
feature films, including working alongside Tom Hanks in Apollo 13 and
Richard Gere and Edward Norton in Primal Fear. His credits are often
confused with Australian actor Joseph Spano. They are not related.
for his roles as Lt. Henry Goldblume on Hill Street Blues, FBI Special
Agent Tobias C. Fornell on NCIS, and as the original voice of
Pasqually the Chef from Chuck E Cheese.Spano was a member of the San
Francisco improv group The Wing, and in college debuted as Paris in a
production of Romeo and Juliet in 1967. In 1968, he helped found the
Berkeley Repertory Theatre, appearing in its first production, and
stayed with the company for 10 years. He moved to Hollywood in the
late 1970s, landing guest spots on TV and bit roles in American
Graffiti (1973) and The Enforcer (1976).In Hill Street Blues he played
Henry Goldblume during the entire seven-year run of the series, first
as a detective sergeant, later as a lieutenant. Goldblume was one of
Hill Street Precinct Captain Frank Furillo's trusted junior officers,
serving at times as a hostage negotiator and gangs relations officer.
The character was sympathetic to crime victims, sometimes coming in
conflict with his duties as a police officer. Spano was one of many
actors appearing through each episode, which typically had several
interwoven story lines.After Hill Street Blues ended, Spano won
recurring roles in television police shows Murder One (1995) and NYPD
Blue (1993), again as a detective, and has appeared regularly in
television movies and television shows like The X-Files (episodes
"Tempus Fugit" and "Max"), Mercy Point and Amazing Grace. Spano won an
Emmy award in 1988 for Best Guest Actor in a Drama Series for a role
he played in an episode of Midnight Caller. He has appeared in several
feature films, including working alongside Tom Hanks in Apollo 13 and
Richard Gere and Edward Norton in Primal Fear. His credits are often
confused with Australian actor Joseph Spano. They are not related.
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