ACTING VETERAN GONE

‘Johnny Dangerously’ and ‘Hawaii Five-O’ Star Dies at 83

Richard Dimitri died in Los Angeles with his wife by his side.

Richard Dimitri, character actor and comedian best known for 1984’s Johnny Dangerously and When Things Were Rotten, has died at the age of 83. According to an online obituary, he died on December 18 after a decades-long battle with heart and lung illnesses. His wife of 26 years, Christianne Engs, was at his side. Dimitri got his start on the stage, starring in Off-Broadway and Broadway shows before teaching acting at Queen’s College. In the mid-1970s, he moved to Los Angeles in order to star in Mel Brooks’ series When Things Were Rotten as twins Bertram and Renaldo. He went on to star in several other television shows, including Hawaii Five-0 and The Tracey Ullman Show, as well as Johnny Dangerously alongside Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito and Joe Piscopo. Dimitri retired from the entertainment industry in 1998 as a result of serious chronic health conditions, moving into a career as an art and antiques dealer and opening a gallery with his wife in Los Angeles. He is predeceased by his son, John W. Dimitri, and survived by Christianne.