The French Connection actor Tony Lo Bianco dead at 87: Star was also in The Honeymoon Killers and worked with Richard Gere and Demi Moore

The French Connection actor Tony Lo Bianco has died at the age of 87.

Lo Bianco passed away after a long battle with cancer, his family shared on Wednesday.

'Tony Lo Bianco passed away last night at his horse farm in Maryland after a battle with prostate cancer. His wife, Alyse, was by his side. Tony was 87 years old,' a statement from Lo Bianco’s representative shared.

He had a long and varied career that included movies, hit TV shows and theater. 

Another one of his big hit films was the 1970 crime drama The Honeymoon Killers with costar Shirley Stoler. 

And Tony was in 1978's Bloodbrothers with Richard Gere and 1996's The Juror with Demi Moore.

He was also known for science fiction horror God Told Me To, City Heat and Kill The Irishman.

The TV series he worked on were Get Smart, The Streets Of San Francisco, The Twilight Zone, Law & Order and Murder, She Wrote.

He was born Anthony LoBianco in Brooklyn, New York, and was a boxer before he started acting in the mid 1960s.

Lo Bianco first started working in theater.

He performed as an understudy in a 1964 Broadway production of Incident at Vichy, then had a supporting role in a Broadway production of Tartuffe.

Next he landed a starring role in Broadway's The Royal Hunt of the Sun.

He made his film debut in The Sex Perils of Paulette (1965) before appearing as a murderer in the semi-biographical crime film The Honeymoon Killers (1970).

Then he had his biggest hit: a role in The French Connection (1971).

In 1976 he was in God Told Me To.

In the mid 70s he starred in the anthology television series Police Story.

Then he went back to films with the crime comedy Mean Frank and Crazy Tony (1973).

In 1975, Lo Bianco won an Obie award for his off-Broadway performance as Duke Bronkowski in the baseball-themed play Yanks-3, Detroit-0, Top of the Seventh.

In 1983, Lo Bianco was nominated for a Tony for his portrayal of Eddie Carbone in Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge.

Lo Bianco appeared in several independent films in the 1990s: in 1995 as Jimmy Jacobs in the HBO biographical film Tyson, in 1996 as Briggs in Sworn to Justice with Cynthia Rothrock. He had a minor role in Nixon, directed by Oliver Stone.

Lo Bianco was previously the national spokesperson for the Order Sons of Italy in America.

Lo Bianco was married from 1964 until 1984 to Dora Landey. They had three daughters. 

He was married to Elizabeth Fitzpatrick from 2002 until 2008. He married his current wife, Alyse Best Muldoon, in June 2015.