Tarantina was born in New York in 1959, with his apparent appreciation for the many stories of his hometown being evident throughout his career, which included films like Summer Of Sam, Carlito’s Way, and recent female-led crime drama The Kitchen, as well as shows like multiple Law & Order variations, Spin City, NYPD Blue, Elementary, Person Of Interest, Blue Bloods, The Night Of, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel—where he had a regular role as nightclub emcee Jackie. He even provided the voices for general background characters in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV, which took place in a faux-New York called Liberty City.
On Gilmore Girls and its Netflix follow-up A Year In The Life, Tarantina played newstand owner Bootsy. The official Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Twitter account posted a tribute to Tarantina, saying, “The Gaslight won’t be the same without you.”
