Actor Reni Santoni, who played Poppie on "Seinfeld," is dead at 81.
People magazine reports Santoni died Saturday in Los Angeles, following months of hospice care.
While TV sitcom audiences know Santoni as a restaurateur with digestive problems and an uncomfortable friendship with Jerry Seinfeld's title character on that hit NBC program, his resume includes a long list of serious roles as well.
The New York City native had notable roles alongside Clint Eastwood in 1971's "Dirty Harry," worked with Sylvester Stallone in 1986's "Cobra" and in 1989, he teamed up with Gene Hackman in "The Package."
His big break in 1967 when comedic genius Carl Reiner cast him in "Enter Laughing."
