Robert Costanzo

Robert Costanzo is a veteran character actor who appeared as Slade Bender in the second season episode . Hailing from Brooklyn, Costanzo has amassed a career spanning over four decades and over two hundred film and television credits. 
== Film work ==
Costanzo has dozens of feature films to his credit. Small roles in films such as (1975, featuring Chris Sarandon and Carol Kane), (1977), and Saturday Night Fever (1977) gave way to larger supporting roles in films like Fatso (1980), Two of a Kind (1983), and The Lightship (1986). He found his greatest success in features during the 1990s, beginning with a key supporting role in (1990), featuring Marc Alaimo, Roy Brocksmith, Ronny Cox, Mel Johnson, Jr., Frank Kopyc, Lycia Naff, and the voice of Robert Picardo. In addition, Jon Povill was credited with the film's story.
Also in 1990, Costanzo appeared in two blockbuster films with Next Generation co-star (and later regular) Colm Meaney: Dick Tracy and Die Hard 2. Fellow Star Trek alumni Hamilton Camp, Seymour Cassel, Tony Epper, Ed McCready, Michael J. Pollard, Bert Remsen, John Schuck, Paul Sorvino, and Ian Wolfe appeared in the former film, as well, while William Sadler and Sheila McCarthy co-starred in the latter. 
Costanzo's subsequent films include (1991, with David Paymer, Tracey Walter and Noble Willingham), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992, with Seymour Cassel and Keone Young), North (1994, with Jason Alexander, Rosalind Chao, and Keone Young), and For Better or Worse (1996, starring and directed by Jason Alexander). He was the second male lead in (1993) and also co-starred with actor James Doohan in 1995's Storybook.
More recently, Costanzo had small roles in such films as Alex & Emma (with Jordan Lund) and Searching for Bobby D (with Michael Nouri) and supporting roles in films like In the Mix and The Flyboys. In addition, he starred in the 2007 independent film Banished, which he also associate produced. Some of his upcoming films include Dark Room Theater and A Wild Ride.
== Television work ==
Besides The Next Generation, Costanzo has made guest appearances on numerous television series, including The Bob Newhart Show, , , Who's the Boss?, , Family Ties, , The Fall Guy, (starring John Larroquette), , , , , and . He also had recurring roles on and three series from creator : (starring Barbara Babcock, Barbara Bosson and James B. Sikking), (starring Corbin Bernsen), and (starring Gordon Clapp and Sharon Lawrence). 
He was a regular on several short-lived programs, including The Last Resort (1979-80) and CBS' (1981). He is known for playing Joey Tribbiani Sr., the father of 's character, on an episode of Friends and an episode of that show's spin-off series, Joey. Perhaps his best-known television role, however, is the voice of Detective Harvey Bullock on the various Batman animated series and movies of the 1990s.
Costanzo's other TV credits include a number of shows co-starring actors who had been or would become regulars on a Star Trek series. In 1985, he appeared in an episode of which also featured s Tim Russ (albeit, in a separate segment). In 1989, Costanzo appeared on , starring s Scott Bakula (as well as Dean Stockwell, who also appeared on Enterprise). In a 1998 episode of Early Edition, Costanzo worked alongside The Original Seriess George Takei. 
Costanzo is one of the many Star Trek actors who appeared in HBO's 61*. His co-stars included Seymour Cassel, J.D. Cullum, Charles Esten, Bob Gunton, Robert Joy, Christopher McDonald, Bruce McGill, Michael Nouri, Dell Yount, and Connor Trinneer.
Costanzo voiced in an episode of The Zeta Project with Worf actor Michael Dorn (as well as Voyager guest star Michael McKean). He also supplied the voice of Philoctetes on Disney's Hercules animated series, the direct-to-video movie Hercules: Zero to Hero, the series House of Mouse, and the video games Arcade Frenzy, Kingdom Hearts, and Kingdom Hearts II. In addition, he lent his voice to a 2006 episode of Seth MacFarlane's animated series Family Guy.
In 2007, Costanzo appeared in an episode of the FX series Dirt, along with Jeffrey Nordling, Mariette Hartley, and Randy Oglesby. He then appeared on , starring Original Series actor William Shatner and Deep Space Nines René Auberjonois.
== Other Trek connections ==
Additional projects in which Costanzo worked with other Star Trek alumni include:
=== Features ===
*Between the Lines (1977, with Stephen Collins and Michael J. Pollard)
*Bloodbrothers (1978, with Bruce French and Paul Sorvino)
*Shoot the Moon (1982, with George Murdock and Peter Weller)
*The Star Chamber (1983, with Michael Ensign, Larry A. Hankin, and James B. Sikking)
*Up the Creek (1984, with James B. Sikking)
*The Boss' Wife (1986, with Christopher Plummer)
*Underworld (1996, with Jimmie F. Skaggs)
*With Friends Like These... (1998, with Michael McKean)
*The Last Producer (2000, with Marnie McPhail)
=== TV movies ===
*A Question of Guilt (1978, directed by Robert Butler)
*The Ratings Game (1984, with Michael Ensign, Gerrit Graham, and Vincent Schiavelli)
*Call Me Clause (2001, with Whoopi Goldberg)
=== TV series ===
*Lou Grant episode "Romance" (1979, with Craig Wasson)
*Gimme a Break! episode "Greenlawn Street Blues" (1983, with Miriam Flynn and John Hoyt)
*Hill Street Blues episodes:
**"Hair Apparent" (1984, with Barbara Babcock, Barbara Bosson, and James B. Sikking; directed by Corey Allen)
**"Lucky Ducks" (1984, with Babcock, Bosson, and Sikking)
**"Eva's Brawn" (1984, with Babcock, Bosson, Clayton Rohner, and Sikking)
* episodes:
**"Foundling" (1994, with K Callan, Teri Hatcher, Tony Jay, Tracy Scoggins, and David Warner)
**"Tempus Fugitive" (1995, with K Callan and Teri Hatcher)
* (1997, starring Lea Thompson, with Alan Oppenheimer)
* (2004, directed by Terrence O'Hara)
== External links ==
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