Tony Musante, the popular character actor who was a fixture in Italian films and TV series, has died in a New York hospital at age 77. Musante, who brought intensity to all of his roles, was driven more by artistic satisfaction than a desire to make the big money. He made a splash with U.S. audiences in 1967 playing a thug who terrorizes passengers on a New York City subway train in the film The Incident. He won acclaim for his role as a gay man who is wrongly convicted and executed for murder in the 1968 Frank Sinatra film The Detective. He also had a co-starring role with George C. Scott in the 1971 crime film The Last Run and starred in director Dario Argento's 1970 cult classic The Bird With the Crystal Plumage. In 1973 he reluctantly starred in the TV series Toma about a maverick cop. Despite the show's ratings success, Musante left the series after one seasons. It was then re-developed as Baretta, which became a major hit for Robert Blake, who took over the lead role. In recent years Musante continued to act periodically and had a recurring role in the TV series Oz in 1997. For more click here