Jon Raymond Polito (December 29, 1950 â€" September 1, 2016) was an
American character actor. In a film and television career spanning 35
years, he amassed over 220 credits. Notable television roles included
Detective Steve Crosetti in the first two seasons of Homicide: Life on
the Street and as 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 legendary "hungry i"
nightclub impresario Enrico Banducci in a large supporting role in Tim
Burton's 2014 film Big Eyes starring Amy Adams.Polito was initially
reluctant to audition for Homicide as he didn't want to move to
Baltimore for the series, having just relocated from New York City to
Los Angeles. His agents sent him the script anyway, featuring a
dialogue scene between a Polish-American and an Irish-American
detective. Polito preferred the Irish detective role, but was told
that he could only do the Polish one. After reading for the part
Polito added a message on his audition tape saying that if the
producers wanted to call him back he would only be interested if he
could take the part of the Irish detective. 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 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 slagging match between him and Fontana.
Interviewed about the situation in 2005, Polito expressed regret for
his handling of the matter. He noted that he and Fontana subsequently
patched up their differences, and as a result the Crosetti character
returned to make a farewell appearance as a spirit in Homicide: The
Movie.
American character actor. In a film and television career spanning 35
years, he amassed over 220 credits. Notable television roles included
Detective Steve Crosetti in the first two seasons of Homicide: Life on
the Street and as 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 legendary "hungry i"
nightclub impresario Enrico Banducci in a large supporting role in Tim
Burton's 2014 film Big Eyes starring Amy Adams.Polito was initially
reluctant to audition for Homicide as he didn't want to move to
Baltimore for the series, having just relocated from New York City to
Los Angeles. His agents sent him the script anyway, featuring a
dialogue scene between a Polish-American and an Irish-American
detective. Polito preferred the Irish detective role, but was told
that he could only do the Polish one. After reading for the part
Polito added a message on his audition tape saying that if the
producers wanted to call him back he would only be interested if he
could take the part of the Irish detective. 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 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 slagging match between him and Fontana.
Interviewed about the situation in 2005, Polito expressed regret for
his handling of the matter. He noted that he and Fontana subsequently
patched up their differences, and as a result the Crosetti character
returned to make a farewell appearance as a spirit in Homicide: The
Movie.
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