Late Law & Order star had cancer

Farina, who died on Monday after suffering a blood clot in his lung, had been under treatment for the cancer for several months, according to his cardiologist, Dr Marc A Kates.

Thirteen years ago Farina had been diagnosed with "a small cancer that was treated and cured with surgery," Kates said in a statement on Tuesday.

But in recent months the cancer had recurred and, despite ongoing treatment, the blood clot "unexpectedly and suddenly took his life," Kates said.

The 69-year-old Farina, who died in a Scottsdale, Arizona hospital, was known for such films as Get Shorty and Out of Sight, and for TV series including Law & Order and Luck.