OBIT

Actor James Farentino Dies at 73

Had been accused of stalking Frank Sinatra’s daughter.

James Farentino, the television and film actor whose scandalous personal life often competed with his long career for headlines, died Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 73. A Universal Studios contract performer in the 1960s, the Brooklyn native included roles in ABC soap opera Dynasty and 1980’s The Final Countdown starring Kirk Douglas and Martin Sheen among his more than 100 acting credits. Married four times and divorced three, Farentino pleaded no contest in 1994 to stalking Tina Sinatra, Frank Sinatra’s youngest daughter. His career went into a decline after the case, Farentino said in later interviews. “The roles started to get smaller and smaller with less value, and I was like, ‘What am I doing here?’” he said in 2003. Later in life, he guest-starred as George Clooney’s father on ER.