LOS ANGELES, July 24: Dennis Farina, the former Chicago cop turned film and television actor best known for his role as wise-cracking detective Joe Fontana on the hit NBC police drama “Law & Order,” died in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Monday, his publicist said. He was 69. Farina, who parlayed his experience as a police officer, a Chicago-accented baritone and straight-talking demeanor into a series of tough-guy roles in Hollywood, died after suffering a blood clot in his lung, his publicist Lori De Waal said.
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