Joe Santos, ‘The Rockford Files’ star, dies at 84

Joe Santos, who co-starred on The Rockford Files with James Garner, has died. He was 84 years old.

Santos’ son, Perry, told TMZ that his father suffered a heart attack on March 16 at his Los Angeles home. He was rushed to a Santa Monica hospital and died earlier today.

Santos played Detective Dennis Becker on The Rockford Files, which ran from 1974 to 1980. In 1979, he earned an Emmy nomination for the role. Garner died in July 2014 at age 86.

Santos’ long list of credits includes seven episodes of The Sopranos, The Postman, Blue Thunder, The Last Boy Scout, several Rockford Files TV movies and appearances on NYPD Blue. His career dates back to the early 1960s and his final appearance came in a movie called Chronic with Tom Roth last year.

The actor is survived by two sons and a daughter.