James Farentino has died aged 73

James Farentino in DynastyThe American television and film actor James Farentino has died at the age of 73.

BBC News reports that the actor died in Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles from heart failure. The actor had many roles on television and film including films such as The Final Countdown. On television he had many roles in a wide range of dramas; between 1981 and 1982 he played Dr. Nick Toscanni in Dynasty who turned up in Denver to have revenge on Blake Carrington (John Forsythe). The character tried, unsuccessfully, to seduce Blake’s new wife Krystal (Linda Evans) but did have an affair with his daughter Fallon (Pamela Sue Martin). The character made his final appearance in the season two finale; leaving Blake for dead on a mountain top after a struggle between the two.

Farentino other television roles included Cool Million, The Bold Ones: The Lawyers, Blue Thunder, Sins, Mary and Julie. In the mid 1990s he made several appearances in NBC medical drama E.R as the father of George Clooney’s character. In the latter half of the 1990s he appeared in another Aaron Spelling soap; Melrose Place. His last role, according to IMDB, was in the 2006 television movie Drive II.