Joe Grifasi
Biography
Joseph G. "Joe" Grifasi (born June 14, 1944) is an American character actor of film, stage and television. Born in Buffalo, New York, Grifasi joined the U.S. Army prior to studying acting. He has appeared in more than 50 feature films including Presumed Innocent, The Deer Hunter, Big Business, Beaches, Auto Focus, Matewan, Naked Gun, Dark Matter, Natural Born Killers, Chances Are, Changing Lanes, One Fine Day, F/X, Benny & Joon, The Pope of Greenwich Village, Brewster’s Millions, Batman Forever, The Flamingo Kid, Ironweed, and Splash. His television credits include The Bronx is Burning (as Yogi Berra), 61* (as Phil Rizzuto), Law & Order, ER, LA Law, Chicago Hope, Hill Street Blues, SCTV, Roseanne, and The Practice. Grifasi’s Broadway credits include Dinner at Eight, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, A Memory of Two Mondays, Boy Meets Girl, The Accidental Death of an Anarchist, The 1940’s Radio Hour and Happy End. His off-Broadway credits include Conversations in Tusculum, The Boys Next Door (Drama Desk Nomination), Once Around the City, Golden Boy, Filumena and Says I, Says He.
He has been married to jazz soprano saxophonist and composer Jane Ira Bloom, whom he met while studying at the Yale School of Drama, since 1974.
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Full filmography
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) as Hashi Horowitz
- Law & Order (1990) as Ezra Gould
- Law & Order (1990) as Defense Attorney James Linde
- The Good Wife (2009) as Judge John Mata
- Elementary (2012) as Captain Moretti
- ER (1994) as Tom Williams
- Hill Street Blues (1981) as Ronnie Delacroce
- Chicago Hope (1994) as Larry Ruscetti
- New Amsterdam (2018) as Lilo Steinhauser
- The Practice (1997) as Harry Papp
- Bull (2016) as Judge Arlen Rand
- Bull (2016) as Judge Rand
- Evil (2019) as Lombino
- Matlock (1986) as Hot Dog Vendor
- Great Performances (1971) as Cpl. Matson
- The Good Fight (2017) as Judge John Mata
- L.A. Law (1986) as Dominic Nuzzi
- The Equalizer (1985) as Lt. Vocek
- Moonlighting (1985) as Kapatkin
- Early Edition (1996) as Harry Hawks
- Hope & Faith (2003) as Leo
- Conviction (2006) as Judge Harrigan
- Batman Forever (1995) as Bank Guard
- Remember WENN (1996) as Larry Looper