Zito's The Prowler (1981). He was also in The Kirlian Witness (1980), Bloodrage (1980), and Arthur (1981). He was second billed in the independently produced horror film Midnight (1982). Return to Hollywood Tierney returned to Hollywood in December 1983, and over the next 16 years, resumed a fairly successful acting career in film and television. He guest-starred on several television shows such as Remington Steele, Fame, Hunter, Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and The Simpsons, where former show runner Josh Weinstein called Tierney's appearance "the craziest guest star experience we ever had". In 1984, Tierney appeared as part of a national campaign in an Excedrin TV commercial playing a construction worker. In 1985, he had a small speaking role as the chief of the New York City police in John Huston's Prizzi's Honor. Between 1985 to 1987, Tierney made several guest appearances on the last two seasons of the police drama Hill Street Blues, portraying Desk Sergeant Jenkins working the precinct's night shifts. He spoke the last line of dialogue on the series' final episode when he answered the front desk phone, uttering "Hill Street." Tierney had a more substantial supporting role as the father of protagonist Ryan O'Neal in Norman Mailer's film adaptation of his own novel Tough Guys Don't Dance (1987). He also played a baseball-bat wielding bar owner in the film adaptation of Stephen King's Silver Bullet. Tierney credited Tough Guys Don't Dance in particular with rejuvenating his acting career, and he personally ranked it as some of his best work. In 1988, Tierney played Cyrus Redblock, a tough holodeck gangster in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Big Goodbye". In February 1991, he guest-starred as Elaine Benes's gruff father Alton Benes in the Seinfeld episode "The Jacket". Reservoir Dogs and later career In 1991, Quentin Tarantino cast him in a supporting role as crime lord Joe Cabot in Reservoir Dogs. The success of the film bookended Tierney's career in playing gangsters. In an homage to his first starring role, Tierney reports that one of his henchmen was "dead as Dillinger". During production, Tierney's off-screen antics both amused and disturbed the cast and crew. At the end of his first week of directing Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino got into a fist fight with Tierney and fired him. He later referred to Tierney as "a complete lunatic"