Actor James Farentino dies

Actor James Farentino has died at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in La. He was 72. A mainstay of television for several years, Farentino guested on a lot of shows, different from "Route 66," "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" and "Ironside" inside the sixties with a role as Simon Peter in 1977's "Jesus of Nazareth," a recurring stint inside the eighties on "Empire" as Dr. Nick Toscanni together with a tale arc since the father of George Clooney's character on "ER" in 1996. Farentino was married to four stars: Elizabeth Ashley, Michele Lee, Debrah Farentino and Stella Farentino. He's managed to get by Stella together with a boy by Lee. Contact Variety Staff at news@variety.com