I was avoiding bring this up, but Darren "Kolchak" McGavin passed away yesterday.
The husky, tough-talking performer went on to become one of the busiest actors in television and film, starring in five TV series, including "Mike Hammer," and endearing holiday audiences with his role as the grouchy dad in the 1983 comedy classic "A Christmas Story."
McGavin, 83, died Saturday of natural causes at a Los Angeles-area hospital with his family at his side, said his son Bogart McGavin.
"Bogart?"
McGavin also had leading roles in TV's "Riverboat" and cult favorite "Kolchak: The Night Stalker." Among his memorable portrayals was Gen. George Patton in the 1979 TV biography "Ike."
Despite his busy career in television, McGavin was awarded only one Emmy: in 1990 for an appearance as
Candice Bergen's opinionated father in an episode of "Murphy Brown."He lacked the prominence in films he enjoyed in television, but he registered strongly in featured roles such as the young artist in Venice in "Summertime," David Lean's 1955 film with Katharine Hepburn and Rosanno Brazzi; Frank Sinatra's crafty drug supplier in "The Man with the Golden Arm" (1955);
Jerry Lewis's parole officer in "The Delicate Delinquent" (1957); and the gambler in 1984's "The Natural." He also starred alongside
Don Knotts, who died Friday night, in the 1976 family comedy "No Deposit, No Return."Throughout his television career, McGavin gained a reputation as a curmudgeon willing to bad-mouth his series and combat studio bosses.
McGavin starred in the private eye series "Mike Hammer" in the 1950s. In 1968 he told a reporter: "Hammer was a dummy. I made 72 of those shows, and I thought it was a comedy. In fact, I played it camp. He was the kind of guy who would've waved the flag for George Wallace."
Heh.
I never got to see most of the TV stuff he did in the '50s, for obvious reasons, but I remember him from reruns as Kolchak (in a show I had to beg to watch) and, of course, as The Old Man.
Then there was that role in 1991's Captain America, but I'm not one to speak ill of the dead.
I just finished working my way through the The Night Stalker boxed set a few weeks ago, and McGavin really was delightful.
His Kolchak was quite the smarmy s.o.b. who'd use anyone to get what he needed, but you still loved the guy.
(And for those that let their dork flags fly, Moonstone produces a pretty nifty comic based on the Kolchak property.)
Kolchak, McCloud and Barney Fife all in one a couple of days. Not a good weekend.
It's always sad to lose a man who won a Major Award. Godspeed, Old Man.