In addition to his wife, Mr. Sierra is survived by his stepdaughters, Kelly and Jill, and a step-granddaughter. Outside of television, Sierra had roles in iconic films such as Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Papillon and The Towering Inferno. He was a friend, a Mentor, a force of nature that I was so grateful to have known & worked with. Invariably, these "remember-when" sessions turned gruesome or got jumbled up in the inspector's mind; more often than not, they caused him to get weepy over how much he loved his long-gone and equally hard-nosed former partners. Roles in feature films and television series soon followed, including "M*A*S*H" and "Return to Witch Mountain.". In 1993, he played an Iraqi patrol boat captain in the comedy Hot Shots! 2023 Cable News Network. In the plot, he volunteers in helping to chase away neo-Nazi thugs presiding in the neighborhood who spray-painted a swastika on the Bunkers front door. Gregory Sierra, best known for his roles as Sgt. One of the toughest characters on "Barney Miller" wasn't a criminal, but rather, a cop with a zeal for tearing down the men and women of the 12th Precinct. He was 83 years old. Born on Jan. 25, 1937 in Spanish Harlem, Sierra attended the Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception, in Brooklyn. The more Fred tried to get under Julios skin, the more Julio got the better of him. I wasnt going to be a priest! he said. At the time of his death he survived by his large extended friends and family. He later said "I would have been happy if I continued to do that for the rest of my life". CNN Actor Gregory Sierra, best known for his roles in "Sanford and Son" and "Barney Miller," died on January 4 from cancer, his widow Helene Tabor confirmed to CNN Friday. America So She Could Breastfeed Privately, Mark Russell, Piano-Playing Political Satirist, Dies at 90, Richard Belzer, Extraordinarily Smart-Ass as a Comic and a TV Cop, Dies at 78, Gerald Fried, Star Trek and Roots Composer, Dies at 95, Jerry Springer, Host of a Scandalous Talk Show, Dies at 79, Robert Patrick, 'Kennedy's Children' Playwright, Dies at 85, John Oliver Mocks Matthew McConaugheys Five-Hour Virtual Motivational Seminar, The Morning Show Snags Early Season 4 Renewal at Apple TV+, Barry Star Sarah Goldberg on Sallys Point of No Return: Its the Final Nail in the Coffin, Succession Director on Filming That Surprise Cameo and Tying Up Her Kendall Trilogy, Michael J. Gregory Sierra Death -Dead - Obituary - Cause of Death : Actor Gregory Sierra of 'Barney Miller' and 'Sanford and Son has Died . Those are the kinds of things we show onBarney Miller.. Only two weeks into shooting the series, his second wife, Susan, committed suicide. And he played Carlos El Puerco Valdez, a Malaguayan counter-revolutionist who kidnaps Jessica (Katherine Helmond) on ABCsSoap. Lt. Ben Scanlon hailed from the New York Police Department's Internal Affairs division, and investigated alleged improprieties by fellow officers. Miguel "Chano" Amanguale on the ABC police series "Barney Miller" and as Julio Fuentes on the NBC sitcom "Sanford and Son," has died, his wife,. In later episodes, Marty calls on Barney in Season 2's "Discovery" to aid him and his partner, Mr. Driscoll (Ray Stewart), with a harassment case involving a cop, and in Season 6's "The Child Stealers," when Driscoll takes extreme measures to see his son. Gregory Sierra Death He died on January 4, 2021, in Laguna Woods, California after a long battle with cancer. His character functioned very much like George Jefferson did as Archie Bunkers next-door-neighbor a constant racial irritant and without the sweet-natured Julio getting one over on Fred time and again (and without being there as a setup for some of Foxxs more outrageous insults), the show lost a lot of its underlying edge.. Sierra died January 4, after a battle with cancer, family spokesman Rick Voll told The Hollywood Reporter. That helped the series add a Peabody Award, given to shows of exceptional quality, to its three Emmys and two Golden Globes.