This young intense actor of Puerto Rican descent appeared in such movies as "Marathon Man" (1976), "Short eyes" (1977), "Andy Warhol's Bad" (1977), "All that Jazz" (1979), "Going in Style" (1979), and "Fort Apache the Bronx" (1981). He played duo-roles in "Fort Apache the Bronx", cameos in "Marathon Man" and "Going in Style", and was one of the main characters in "Short Eyes". He was arrested in January 1985 for a 1978 murder but released from jail in September 1985 and died of a liver ailment in December 1985 before being brought to trial. His brother, a co-defendant, was convicted for the offense in 1997 and received a prison sentence of 20 years.