Charles Cioffi, the rugged New York character actor who made a career out of playing cops, crooks, bosses and tough guys, has died at 90.
Cioffi passed away Friday at his home in Marina del Rey, California, his family announced.
For decades, Cioffi was one of those familiar faces audiences instantly recognized, even if they did not always know his name. He appeared in gritty crime dramas, hit TV shows, Broadway productions and soap operas, building a long résumé that stretched from Shaft to The X-Files.
Born Charles Michael Cioffi in New York on Oct. 31, 1935, he went on to attend Michigan State University before launching his professional acting career at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.
He made his Broadway debut in 1968 in King Lear with the Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center. Cioffi would go on to appear on Broadway seven times, including a memorable run as John Hancock in the musical 1776, which played from 1969 to 1972.
But it was on screen where Cioffi became a go-to presence for tough, commanding roles.
In 1971, he appeared in two major films that helped define his hard-edged image. He played the killer stalking Jane Fonda’s call girl character Bree Daniels in the thriller Klute. That same year, he appeared in Shaft as Lt. Vic Androzzi, the New York City cop forced to deal with Richard Roundtree’s legendary private eye.
From there, Cioffi became a reliable face in gangster and crime stories. He appeared in Lucky Luciano, The Don Is Dead and Crazy Joe during the 1970s.
He also made his mark on television as Lt. Matt Reardon, the boss of Teresa Graves’ undercover cop character, on the ABC series Get Christie Love!, which aired from 1974 to 1975.
Years later, Cioffi returned to the world of TV crime drama as Chief George Morris opposite Telly Savalas in a string of Kojak television films that aired from 1989 to 1990.
A new generation of viewers came to know him through The X-Files, where he played FBI section chief Scott Blevins in six episodes, including the show’s pilot, between 1993 and 1997.
Cioffi also had a memorable role as Tom Cruise’s widowed father in the 1983 football drama All the Right Moves.
His long list of film credits included The Thief Who Came to Dinner, The Other Side of Midnight, Time After Time, Missing, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, Newsies and Used People.
On television, he seemed to pop up everywhere. His credits included Bonanza, The F.B.I., The Bionic Woman, Hawaii Five-O, Flamingo Road, Lou Grant, Taxi, St. Elsewhere, Law & Order, L.A. Law, NYPD Blue, The Larry Sanders Show, Frasier and The Practice.
He also made appearances in daytime dramas, including Ryan’s Hope, As the World Turns, All My Children and Days of Our Lives, where he played the revenge-driven businessman Ernesto Toscano.
Cioffi is survived by his wife, Anne, to whom he was married for 66 years, and their two sons.
After a career that spanned stage, soaps, crime dramas and cult TV classics, Cioffi leaves behind the kind of Hollywood legacy built not on flash, but on unforgettable presence.