Actor Gregory Sierra has died at the age of 83.
The Star Trek and Miami Vice star had been battling cancer.
His wife Helene Taber shared the tragic news on Sunday.
The actor was known for playing Julio Fuentes, the Puerto Rican neighbour of Fred G Sanford on Sanford and Son and for his role as Detective Sergeant Chano Amengual in Barney Miller.
Fans will also remember Gregory as Lt. Lou Rodriguez in TV series Miami Vice and as Entek in series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Paying tribute to him, his beloved wife said: "He was the most wonderful person. He was a good heart and a brilliant actor."
Gregory died on January 4 in Laguna Woods, California after a battle with cancer.
The star was of Puerto Rican descent but was born and raised in New York.
His Miami Vice co-star Edward James Olmos also paid tribute, tweeting that Gregory had an "extraordinary artistic ability".
He described his co-star as a friend, mentor and "a force of nature that I was so grateful to have known & worked with".
Gregory found fame in the 1970s in Sanford and Son, but he'd already picked up a few acting credits before that in the likes of It Takes A Thief and Mod Squad.
He'd also appeared in movies Beneath the Planet of the Apes and Red Sky at Morning.
Throughout his long career, Gregory appeared in more than 120 movies and TV shows.
Most recently, he was seen in movie The Other Side of the Wind in 2018.
He also picked up credits in Walker, Texas Ranger, Murder, She Wrote, Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, The X Files and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
TV shows Magnum PI, MacGyver and movie The Towering Inferno can also be found in his long acting CV.
Fellow Miami Vice star Olivia Brown also remembered Gregory fondly.
She tweeted: "Gregory is a beautiful soul and he is deserving of resting in peace. My condolences to his loved ones whom I know loved him so much."
Speaking about his long career, he once said that he completely dedicated himself to every role he took on.
He told the Orange County Register: "Any role is demanding if you put yourself through a process.
"Because you expect something of yourself."
