Joe Santos had a heart attack on March 16, 2016, and died two days later.
http://hollywoodlife.com/2016/03/18/joe-santos-dead-the-rockford-files-actor-dies/
I was always fond of Dennis Becker and the grief he and Rockford always
gave each other, especially the constant bitching about running license
plates for Jim.
He played similar characters on other shows, but Rockford was clearly
his career highpoint.
He got to play one of the more cliched and unsympathetic gangsters on
The Sopranos. I no longer recall who murdered Carmine or why.