Actor James Farentino, who appeared in dozens of movies and television shows, died Tuesday in a Los Angeles hospital, according to a family spokesman. He was 73.
Farentino died of heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Hospital after a long illness, said the spokesman, Bob Palmer.
Among his many television appearances, Farentino guest-starred in 1964 with Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., in the episode "Super-Star" of the CBS drama series, The Reporter, with Harry Guardino in the starring role of journalist Danny Taylor of the fictitious New York Globe newspaper. Early in 1967, he appeared in Barry Sullivan's NBC western series The Road West in the episode "Reap the Whirlwind".
In 1969, he starred opposite Patty Duke in the film Me, Natalie. Farentino was one of the lawyers in NBC TV series The Bold Ones (1969–1972) which also starred Burl Ives and Joseph Campanella. He made two appearances in the 1970s anthology television series Night Gallery, once with then wife Michele Lee ("Since Aunt Ada Came to Stay"), and secondly with actress Joanna Pettet ("The Girl With The Hungry Eyes"). In the 1970s, he appeared in an NBC Mystery Movie, Cool Million. In 1978, Farentino was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Drama Special for his portrayal of Saint Peter in the mini-series, Jesus of Nazareth.
In 1980, Farentino starred in The Final Countdown with Kirk Douglas and Martin Sheen. In the movie, the super carrier U.S.S. Nimitz (captained by Douglas) is sent back in time by a strange storm at sea to December 6, 1941 (the day before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor) The Captain must decide whether to use the force of the modern warship Nimitz to stop the attack or to allow history to proceed as "normal". Farentino appeared as "Frank Chaney" in the short-lived 1984 ABC series Blue Thunder, based on the 1983 film of the same name starring Roy Scheider. (The 11-episode series, which starred a then-unknown Dana Carvey, was released on DVD in August 2006.) In the late 1990s, he appeared as Doug Ross' estranged father, "Ray", on ER.