Gregory Sierra, best known for his roles as a sergeant. Miguel “Chano” Amanguale in “Barney Miller” and Julio Fuentes in “Sanford and Son” died on January 4 in Laguna Woods, California, according to Orange County Health Dept. He was 83 years old.
The New York-born and raised actor of Puerto Rican descent has succeeded in his recurring role as Fred G. Sanford’s neighbor. His career remained stable until the late 1990s, often finding Sierra performing law enforcement duties. He appeared in “Miami Vice”, “Murder, She Wrote”, “Hill Street Blues” and “MacGyver”. His TV roles included guest appearances on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and “The X-Files”.
Before arriving at “Sanford and Son”, Sierra had connections with Norman Lear. He appeared in an episode of the beloved sitcom “All in the Family” as Paul Benjamin, a Jewish extremist. Paul and Archie Bunker start a friendship after someone paints a swastika on the family’s door. Paul offers protection to the Bunkers, but ends up being killed in a car bomb. It is the only episode without public applause to end the show.
In “The Towering Inferno”, he played Carlo, the bartender, and appeared as a mutant named Verger in “Beneath the Planet of the Apes”. His other film roles included “Papillon”, “Honey, I Blew Up the Kid” and “The Other Side of the Wind” by Orson Welles.
As a resident of Laguna Woods, he starred in a local production of the play “See How They Run” in 2009. “Any role is demanding if you submit to a lawsuit,” Sierra told the Orange County Register at the time. “Because you expect something from yourself.”
He leaves his wife, Helene.