Polito was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was known for working with the Coen Brothers, most notably in the major supporting role of Italian gangster Johnny Caspar in Miller's Crossing, but also in Barton Fink and The Big Lebowski. He appeared as Detective Steve Crosetti in the first two seasons of Homicide: Life on the Street and on the first season of Crime Story. Polito won an OBIE award in 1980 for his theater performances off Broadway and for his lifetime of work in film and television he received the Maverick Spirit Event Award at Cinequest Film Festival in 2005. In 2012, he won the award for "Best Actor in a Short Film" at Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival. He appeared in over 100 films, countless TV episodes (including Seinfeld, Modern Family) and on Broadway.
I never got to meet him, but know quite a few people who knew/worked with him at one time or another, and they've ALL raved about what a warm, funny, considerate, wonderful guy he was. My goal in life is to live in such a way that when I go, people talk about me the way they talk about Jon Polito.
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