Joe Fontana (fictional character)
| Det. Joe Fontana | |
|---|---|
| Law & Order character | |
 |
|
| First appearance | "Paradigm" |
| Last appearance | "Invaders" |
| Portrayed by | Dennis Farina |
| Time on show | 2004–2006 |
| Seasons | 15, 16 |
| Credited appearances | 46 episodes (L&O) 1 episode (TBJ) 47 episodes (total) |
| Preceded by | Lennie Briscoe |
| Succeeded by | Ed Green |
| Information | |
| Partner |
Ed Green Nick Falco |
Detective Joe Fontana is a fictional character portrayed by actor Dennis Farina on NBC's long-running drama series Law & Order.
The character of Joe Fontana is a homicide detective in the show's 27th Detective Squad of the New York City Police Department. Fontana--portrayed by Dennis Farina--is partnered with Det. Ed Green and, for a brief time, with Det. Nick Falco while Green recovers from a gunshot wound. He is commanded by Lt. Anita Van Buren.
The name "Fontana" comes from Homicide: Life on the Street producer Tom Fontana, a close friend of Law & Order producer Dick Wolf.
Detective Fontana's character brings considerable experience from a city other than New York to the world of the show. He hails from the Little Italy neighborhood of Chicago and speaks fluent Italian. He was an officer of the Chicago Police Department (as was Farina himself) before coming to New York. He left his posting in Chicago because of conflict with a superior officer, although he refuses to elaborate further. He has never been married. Prior to partnering with Green, Fontana also worked with a homicide squad in The Bronx.
Beside his Chicago experience and background, Fontana's character also lends a notably different image to the depiction of police officers in Law & Order. He is known on the show for his flashy lifestyle — he drives a silver Mercedes-Benz SL500, is fond of impeccably tailored suits, and often carries a 'walking-around' money roll of several thousand dollars. That is initially cause for suspicion with his new coworkers, who wonder how he can afford those expensive things on his salary; however, apparently they are later satisfied of his honesty, though its never explained exactly how he gets such large amounts of money. Fontana's penchant for fancy things even escalates to a character shtick throughout several episodes. On multiple occasions he bemoans job-related damage to expensive articles of clothing. In one episode, he tramples through the snow to look for evidence, and says, "Ugh, there goes a perfectly good pair of Gucci loafers." Although Fontana is shown paying a great deal of attention to his appearance, he does have his limits; in one episode, for example, when he sees a woman who died after having liposuction, he says he would rather go on the South Beach Diet.
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