Born in 1939 of French and Spanish heritage, American actor Reni Santoni started his career off as a comedy writer. He moved in front of the camera in the early 60s and had performed episodic TV when, out of the blue, director Carl Reiner cast him in his semi-autobiography film Enter Laughing in 1967. In the make-or-break role of aspiring actor David Kolowitz, Santoni could have hit the jackpot as a major movie star but unfortunately received only mild reviews in the still-popular film and never became a name. He played another lead in the Canadian film A Great Big Thing (1968) as a follow-up but nothing came of it. Following this, Santoni would be spotted supporting in a number of film parts. He made decent turns alternately playing good guys and bad guys alongside such top names as Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry (1971), Steve Martin in Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982), which was again directed by Carl Reiner, Richard Pryor in Brewster's Millions (1985), Sylvester Stallone in Cobra (1986) and Howard Stern in Private Parts (1987). In contrast, he also broke into the voicover business and provided expert characterizations wherever needed. His steady career employment, however, has been on the small screen and, in 70s series work, ably assisted crimefighters "Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law" and "Matt Houston. Decades later Santoni received some renewed attention in his occasional recurring role as "Poppy" the unsanitary restauranteur on "Seinfeld." More recently he offered his vocal skills in Eddie Murphy's Dr. Dolittle film series.
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