( CNN ) -- Dennis Farina , the dapper , mustachioed cop-turned-actor best known for his tough-as-nails work in such TV series as `` Law & Order , '' `` Crime Story , '' and `` Miami Vice , '' has died . He was 69 . `` We are deeply saddened by the loss of a great actor and a wonderful man , '' said his publicist , Lori De Waal , in a statement Monday . `` Dennis Farina was always warmhearted and professional , with a great sense of humor and passion for his profession . He will be greatly missed by his family , friends and colleagues . '' Farina , who had a long career as a police officer in Chicago , got into acting through director Michael Mann , who used him as a consultant and cast him in his 1981 movie , `` Thief . '' That role led to others in such Mann-created shows as `` Miami Vice '' ( in which Farina played a mobster ) and `` Crime Story '' ( in which he starred as Lt. Mike Torello ) . Farina also had roles , generally as either cops or gangsters , in a number of movies , including `` Midnight Run '' ( 1988 ) , `` Get Shorty '' ( 1995 ) , `` The Mod Squad '' ( 1999 ) and `` Snatch '' ( 2000 ) . In 2004 , he joined the cast of the long-running `` Law & Order '' after Jerry Orbach 's departure , playing Detective Joe Fontana , a role he reprised on the spinoff `` Trial by Jury . '' Fontana was known for flashy clothes and an expensive car , a distinct counterpoint to Orbach 's rumpled Lennie Briscoe . Farina was on `` Law & Order '' for two years , partnered with Jesse L. Martin 's Ed Green . Martin 's character became a senior detective after Farina left the show . In recent years , Farina was one of the stars of `` Luck , '' the ill-fated HBO series about horse racing , and had an occasional role on the Fox series `` New Girl . '' Farina was born in 1944 in Chicago 's Old Town neighborhood . He became a police officer in the late '60s and soon graduated to detective . His switch to acting was a fluke . A friend was an adviser on `` Thief '' and recommended Farina to Mann , who was looking for a guide to the city . The director gave Farina a small part in the film . `` The process was interesting to me , very interesting , but no way did I think this was a full-time career , '' Farina told Cigar Aficionado in 1999 . `` I was 35 years old and had put in more than a decade as a policeman . '' But one thing led to another -- including encouragement from the Steppenwolf Theatre 's John Malkovich -- and soon Farina was getting more than bit parts . Throughout his career , he was loyal to his hometown . Chicago Tribune writer Rick Kogan once wrote of the actor , `` Dennis Farina has a Chicago neighborhood face . ... Dennis Farina has a face that should be found at dawn , unloading crates of lettuce from the back of a truck on Randolph Street . '' Farina repaid the courtesy . `` My personality was formed by Chicago , '' he told Cigar Aficionado . `` It 's very American , very straightforward . If you ca n't find it , or make it there , you wo n't make it anywhere . It 's a very honest place . '' Farina had three sons and several grandchildren . He is survived by his longtime partner , Marianne Cahill .
Actor Farina was known for cop and tough-guy roles . Joe Fontana played Farina on Cigar Aficionado Actor was longtime Orbach police officer who went into acting .