Mike Connors
Mike Connors | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Krekor Ohanian August 15, 1925 |
| Died | January 26, 2017 (aged 91) Tarzana, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Leukemia |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Touch Connors |
| Occupation | Actor |
Mike Connors (born Krekor J. Ohanian; August 15, 1925 – January 26, 2017) was an American actor.
Career
[change | change source]Born in Fresno, California, U.S., he began his career with the stage name Touch Connors, playing small roles in movies such as Sudden Fear (1951) with Joan Crawford and Island in the Sky (1953) with John Wayne. He then starred in four movies of filmmaker Roger Corman: Five Guns West (1955), Day the World Ended (1955), The Oklahoma Woman (1956), Swamp Women (1956). Connors also played the role of "Amalekite herder", in The Ten Commandments (1956). He also starred in some low-budget movies like Voodoo Woman (1957) and Suicide Battalion (1958), both directed by Edward L. Cahn. In 1966, Mike Connors starred in the western Stagecoach directed by Gordon Douglas. In the 1970s and 1980s, Connors was working exclusively for television, with the exceptions of movies Avalanche Express (1979) Nightkill (1980), and Too Scared to Scream (1985) directed by Toby Lo Bianco, Connors plays the role of Lt. Alex Dinardo, who must investigate a series of crimes that occurred in luxurious buildings in New York City. His last films were Downtown Heat (1994) and Gideon (1999)
Television
[change | change source]In 1959 Mike Connors starring in a new TV series called Tightrope, playing police agent Nick Stone, who must infiltrate organized crime. 37 episodes were filmed in black and white between 1959 and 1960. Mike Connors was the star of Mannix, one of the most famous TV detective series of all time. Connors played the role of detective Joe Mannix, who in the first episodes was accompanied by Joseph Campanella as Lew Wickersham. The second season featured Gail Fisher as Mannix's secretary Peggy, Ward Wood as Lt. Art Malcolm and Robert Reed as Lt. Adam Tobias. He played Mannix between 1967 and 1975. Connors was nominated four times for an Emmy Award, and was also nominated for six Golden Globes awards, winning one of them in 1970.
He also starred in films for television such as Revenge for a Rape (1976), he plays Travis Green a man seeking revenge for the rape of his wife, and High Midnight (1979), he is Capt. Lou Mikalich, a corrupt cop who makes a mistake in a raid and killed the family, decides to plant drugs on an innocent. He has been involved in episodes of television series like Cheyenne (1958), Lawman (1958), Mike Hammer (1959), The Untouchables (1962), Perry Mason (1964), Police Story (1977), Walker, Texas Ranger (1998) and Two and a Half Men (2007).
Personal life and death
[change | change source]Connors married Mary Lou Willey in 1949. Together they had a son, Matthew Gunner Ohanian, and a daughter, Dana Lou Connors.
Connors died from leukemia on January 26, 2017 in Tarzana, California. He was 91.[1]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Saperstein, Pat (January 26, 2017). "Mike Connors, 'Mannix' Star, Dies at 91". Variety. ISSN 0042-2738.
- Eye on Science Fiction: 20 Interviews with Classic SF and Horror Filmmakers by Tom Weaver
- Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials: 1974-1984, by Vincent Terrace