A Tribute to Dennis Farina

By Craig Floyd, Memorial Fund Chairman and CEO



Dennis Farina
Image by David Shankbone
via Wikimedia Commons

The Memorial Fund has lost a great friend. Dennis Farina, the long-time real-life Chicago cop turned famous film and television actor, died yesterday at the age of 69. Law enforcement and the entertainment industry have lost one of their finest.

I will always be grateful for the strong and important support that Dennis provided our organization as National Celebrity Chairman when we were building the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. He was always there whenever we needed him and he could not have been more gracious. He participated in press conferences during the early days of the Memorial campaign, and he later attended the Memorial dedication in 1991 and the Memorial’s 10-year anniversary gala in 2001.

I ran into him a few years ago at the Friars’ Club in New York City and it was like reuniting with an old friend. Our condolences go out to his family and especially to his longtime partner, Marianne Cahill, who joined Dennis at many of our events. Dennis will be missed, but not forgotten by us here at the Memorial Fund.

Craig W. Floyd
Chairman and CEO
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund