David Caruso Makes Rare Sherman Oaks Appearance at 72
David Caruso, 72, made a rare public appearance in Sherman Oaks, California, on Monday while running errands. The former CSI: Miami lead, who has largely stayed out of view since leaving acting, was photographed in clothes far removed from the tailored image tied to Horatio Caine.
He wore light gray sweatpants, a gray printed shirt, dark-colored Crocs, a beige fedora and black sunglasses, with his red hair worn long. That casual look is the point: after a TV run built on a sharply controlled screen persona, Caruso surfaced looking like someone who has long settled into life away from set calls and press lines.
Sherman Oaks on Monday
Caruso stepped out to run errands in Sherman Oaks, and the outing stood out because he has retired from acting and kept a low profile since CSI: Miami ended. For readers who only know him from the series, the public sighting is the first real reminder that he has spent years outside the Hollywood machine.
He played Lieutenant Horatio Caine on CSI: Miami from 2002 until 2012, a stretch that made him one of the franchise’s defining faces. When the series was canceled in 2012 because of low ratings and an overblown budget, Caruso moved away from acting and later became an art dealer and gallery owner.
From NYPD Blue to art
Before CSI: Miami, Caruso left NYPD Blue partway through the second season despite winning a Golden Globe for the role. He told Entertainment Weekly that he came back to television because the films did not work out, saying, “I had to come back and prove I could do it again,” and, “The films didn't work out, and this show gave me a second chance. I wasn't going to waste it.”
He later told, “I had nine years of unemployment to clarify that,” a blunt line that fits the arc of a career that never stayed neatly inside one lane. Steven Bochco, who wrote about Caruso in Truth Is A Total Defense, described him as difficult on set, and Caruso answered allegations about his behavior with, “Young actors sometimes do very dumb things. I was no exception,”
2025 closed the gallery
His move into the art world also did not become a permanent second act: his gallery space closed in 2025. That leaves Monday’s Sherman Oaks sighting as a rare current glimpse of a former network star who has been much easier to talk about than to actually see.
For now, the practical takeaway is simple. Caruso is still around, still recognizable, and still drawing attention when he appears in public — but the business of his life no longer runs through Hollywood schedules, and this errand run reads more like a personal sighting than a return.
