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Joseph Peter "Joe" Spano (born July 7, 1946) is an American actor who was formerly perhaps best known for his role as Lt. Henry Goldblume on Hill Street Blues but who is now recognized for his work in NCIS. He was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Virginia Jean (née Carpenter) and Vincent Dante Spano, a physician. He attended Archbishop Riordan High School in San Francisco and was graduated from the University of California-Berkeley, where he gave up plans to major in pre-med in favor of acting. He and his wife Joan, a therapist, adopted and raised two daughters. He is a past Director and current e-mail coordinator of the Southern California chapter of Families with Children from China and a founding, past board member of Half the Sky Foundation, which brings early childhood development training and infant nurturing programs to orphanages in China. He moved to Hollywood in the late 1970s, landing guest shots on TV and bit roles in American Graffiti (1973) and The Enforcer (1976/I). In Hill Street Blues he played Henry Goldblume during the entire seven year run of the series, first as a detective sergeant, later as a lieutenant. Goldblume was one of Hill Street Precinct Captain Frank Furillo`s trusted junior officers, serving at times as a hostage negotiator and gangs relations officer. The character was sympathetic to crime victims, sometimes coming in conflict with his duties as a police officer. Spano was one of many actors appearing through each episode, which typically had several interwoven story lines. After Hill Street Blues ended, Spano won recurring roles in television police shows Murder One (1995) and NYPD Blue (1993), again as a detective, and has appeared regularly in 27 television movies and 20 television shows like The X-Files, Mercy Point and Amazing Grace. Spano won the Emmy award in 1988 for Best Guest Actor in a Drama Series for a role he played in an episode of Midnight Caller. He has appeared in 27 feature films, including working alongside Tom Hanks in Apollo 13 and Richard Gere and Edward Norton in Primal Fear. His credits are often confused with Australian actor Joseph Spano. They are not related.
Biography Credit: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Spano
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