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The Rockford Files

1974

Cranky but likable L.A. PI Jim Rockford pulls no punches (but takes plenty of them). An ex-con sent to the slammer for a crime he didn't commit, Rockford takes on cases others don't want, aided by his tough old man, his lawyer girlfriend and some shady associates from his past.

Timothy Wayne

Timothy Wayne is an actor, known for In the Company of Strangers (2001), The Rockford Files (1974) and The New Mike Hammer (1984).

Noah Beery Jr.

Cast · Known for The Rockford Files

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Noah Lindsey Beery (August 10, 1913 – November 1, 1994), known professionally as Noah Beery, Jr. or just Noah Beery, was an American actor specializing in warm, friendly character parts similar to the ones played by his uncle Wallace Beery, although Noah Beery, Jr., unlike his uncle, seldom broke away from playing supporting roles. His father, Noah Nicholas Beery (known professionally as Noah Beery or Noah Beery, Sr.), enjoyed a similarly lengthy film career as a supporting actor. Beery was best known as James Garner's father, Joseph "Rocky" Rockford, in the 1970s television series The Rockford Files. Description above from the Wikipedia article Noah Beery, Jr., licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Edith Atwater

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Edith Atwater (April 22, 1911 – March 14, 1986) was an American stage, film and television actress. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Atwater made her Broadway debut in 1933. In 1939 she starred in The Man Who Came to Dinner. On screen she appeared in such films as The Body Snatcher, Sweet Smell of Success, and Strait-Jacket. Her television work included roles on The Rockford Files and Knots Landing. Atwater was married to actor Hugh Marlowe in 1941. She later married Kent Smith, with whom she remained married until his death in 1985, a year before her own death. She had no children. Description above from the Wikipedia article Edith Atwater, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Nancy Parsons

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Nancy Anne Parsons (January 17, 1942 — January 5, 2001) was an American actress. She was best-known for her role as Beulah Balbricker in the 1982 cult film Porky's and its sequels. She also played Ida in Motel Hell (1980). Parsons had guest appearances in several TV shows, including Baretta, Charlie's Angels, The Rockford Files, Lou Grant, Family Ties, and in a season 3 episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation titled "The Vengeance Factor" in which she played the character of Sovereign Marouk. Description above from the Wikipedia article Nancy Parsons, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Rogers Turrentine

Larry Gelbart (M*A*S*H) was one of the first industry professionals to recognize Rogers' talent and consequently made a personal effort to find him an agent. He started his television career as story editor and head writer of the PBS program, "Parent Effectiveness", a highly regarded informational series dramatizing the child-rearing precepts of Tom Gordon. His mentor, veteran screenwriter Howard Browne, brought Rogers' work to the attention of The Rockford Files (1974). Subsequently, one of the producers, David Chase, hired Rogers to develop two pilots and to write multiple episodes for other series. In addition to his produced episodic credits, Rogers has penned several television movies and feature film screenplays. He's also written, produced and directed various documentaries, infomercials, promos, music videos and public service announcements, as well as a number of magazine articles and songs, which have been published and recorded. In 2000, he won the Western Heritage Award for writing the Outstanding Television Drama of the Year: "The Regulator" episode of the Showtime series, Dead Man's Gun (1997).

Roy Huggins

Producer · Creator · Writer · Known for Maverick, The Fugitive, The Rockford Files

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Roy Huggins (July 18, 1914 – April 3, 2002) was an American novelist and an influential writer/creator and producer of character-driven television series, including Maverick, The Fugitive, and The Rockford Files. Description above from the Wikipedia article Roy Huggins, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Elisabeth Brooks

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Brooks was born Elisabeth Brooks Luyties in Toronto, Ontario and began her acting career aged five, encompassing both stage and screen. She started appearing in television roles in the mid-1970s and managed to pursue her acting career as a single mother while working a variety of jobs to support herself and her son. She had a brief role in Rich Man, Poor Man (1976), before appearing regularly on the soap opera Days of Our Lives, and in such popular television series as The Rockford Files, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Hart to Hart, Starsky and Hutch, The Six Million Dollar Man and Emergency! Brooks is probably best remembered for her role as the evil leather-clad siren Marsha Quist in the horror film The Howling (1981). Her other film appearances included Deep Space (1988), and The Forgotten One (1989), starring Kristy McNichol. After a three-year struggle with brain cancer, Brooks died in a hospital near her home in Palm Springs, California, at the age of 46

Richard T. Heffron

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.   Richard T. Heffron (October 6, 1930 – August 27, 2007) was a film and television director. He worked on many television series such as The Rockford Files and films including Futureworld (1976), Foolin' Around (1980), the 1982 Mike Hammer film I, the Jury, Pancho Barnes (1988), and La révolution française (1989). Description above from the Wikipedia article Richard T. Heffron, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Stuart Margolin

Cast · Director · Known for The Rockford Files, Love, American Style, Touched by an Angel

Stuart Margolin was an actor and director. He was best known for playing Evelyn "Angel" Martin in the television series The Rockford Files.

Gretchen Corbett

Cast · Known for The Cycle, The Rockford Files

Gretchen Corbett was born on August 13, 1945 in Portland, Oregon, USA as Gretchen Hoyt Corbett. She is an actress, known for The Rockford Files (1974), Magnum, P.I. (1980) and Otherworld (1985).

Luis Delgado

Luis Delgado was born on April 22, 1925 in Michigan, USA. He is known for his work on Maverick (1994), The Rockford Files (1974) and Fire in the Sky (1993). He died on March 24, 1997 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

John Lawlor

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia John Henry Lawlor III (June 5, 1941 – February 13, 2025) was an American actor and assistant director. Early life Lawlor was born on June 5, 1941, in Troy, New York, but spent much of his early life in Boulder, Colorado, where his mother was a teacher of special needs children at Casey Jr. High School. In the late-1960s, he worked as a AmeriCorps Seniors volunteer trainer in Denver. Career His best known roles were Supervisor Leonard Marsh on the television series Phyllis from 1976 to 1977, and later of Headmaster Steven Bradley on the television series The Facts of Life from 1979 to 1980. The name Steven Bradley was likely meant as a tribute to Steve Bradley in Boulder, a friend and one-time manager of the Winter Park ski area. He also guest-starred in L.A. Law, Knots Landing, Mr. Belvedere, Barney Miller, The Rockford Files, Ellery Queen, Baa Baa Black Sheep, and Alice. He played the locksmith exhorted by Skylar White in Breaking Bad. He appeared in the movies National Lampoon's Movie Madness (1982), S.O.B. (1981), Billy Jack Goes to Washington (1977), The Gumball Rally (1976), Wyatt Earp (1994) and Mr. Fixit (1988). In a 1980s TV commercial for Malt-O-Meal hot cereal, he played a father telling his son's invisible friend that Malt-O-Meal was, "Good stuff, Maynard!" a line which became a popular phrase. Personal life and death Lawlor was divorced from Tantoo Cardinal, with whom he had two children. He also had four other children. Lawlor died in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on February 13, 2025, at the age of 83. CLR

Lou Antonio

Director · Known for Chicago Hope

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Lou Antonio (born January 23, 1934) is an American actor and TV director best known for performing in the films Cool Hand Luke and America, America. He also starred in two short-lived TV series, Dog and Cat, and Makin' It. Antonio's only recurring TV guest role character was on Here Come the Brides, but he made multiple appearances as different characters on 1960s and 1970s series like The Rookies, Mission: Impossible, Gunsmoke, The Fugitive, Twelve O'Clock High, Star Trek (in the memorable episode "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield", in which he played the half-white, half-black alien pursued by the oppositely half-black, half-white alien played by Frank Gorshin), I Dream of Jeannie, and The Defenders. Antonio also played the human version of a chimpanzee turned human on an episode of the supernatural sitcom Bewitched. As a director, he has mostly worked on TV movies such as Mayflower Madam, and TV series such as The Rockford Files, Dawson's Creek, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and The West Wing. Antonio was married to fellow actor Lane Bradbury, and his brother, Jim Antonio, is also an actor. He was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.. Description above from the Wikipedia article Lou Antonio, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.​

Ted Gehring

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Theodore Edwin Gehring Jr. (April 6, 1929 – September 28, 2000) was an American film and television actor. He is known for playing the recurring role as Charlie on 16 episodes of the American sitcom television series Alice. Life and career Gehring was born in Bisbee, Arizona. Gehring began his career in 1965, where he first appeared in The Big Valley, playing Larsh. He continued his career, mainly appearing in film and television, often cast as a policeman, bad guy or anonymous roles, over the years. Later in his career, Gehring guest-starred in numerous television programs including Gunsmoke, Battlestar Galactica (and its spin-off Galactica 1980), M*A*S*H, Star Trek: The Original Series, Get Smart, Bonanza, The Rockford Files, Three's Company, Emergency!, Little House on the Prairie, Quincy, M.E., Daniel Boone, Death Valley Days, Adam-12 and Mission: Impossible. He also appeared in films such as The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Nickelodeon, Bound for Glory, The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again, When Time Ran Out..., The Legend of the Lone Ranger, The Domino Principle and Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins. Gehring has also played the role as "Sydney Forbes" in the soap opera television series Days of Our Lives, from 1980. Gehring also starred and co-starred in other films and television programs, as it includes, The Family Holvak, playing Chester Purdle, The Police Connection, playing the role of "Police Chief Marc C. Forester" and On the Air Live with Captain Midnight, playing Father. His last film appearance, was from the television film Leave Her to Heaven, in 1988. In 1989, Gehring retired his career in film and television, last appearing in the television series 1st & Ten, where he played the recurring role as "Ned Lassiter". Death Gehring died in September 2000 in Steelville, Missouri, at the age of 71. CLR

Robert Quarry

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Robert Walter Quarry (3 November 1925 – 20 February 2009) was an American actor, known for several prominent horror film roles. Quarry was born in Santa Rosa, California, the son of Mable and Paul Quarry, a doctor. His films include Count Yorga, Vampire (1970), its sequel The Return of Count Yorga (1971), and Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972), in which he played alchemist Dr. Biederbeck pitted against Vincent Price's Phibes in a race to find the mythical elixir of eternal life. Although it is well-known that Price did not care for his co-star - once, when Quarry was singing in his dressing room during the making of Dr Phibes Rises Again, he said to Price, "You didn't know I could sing did you?" and Price replied: "Well I knew you couldn't act." - the two were later also paired in Madhouse (1974). American International Pictures had plans for Quarry to succeed Price, but the decline in the company's fortunes, and old style horror films falling out of fashion, meant that it never happened. Quarry did make further horror film appearances, as the hippy guru vampire Khorda in 1973's The Deathmaster and as a gangster in the 1974 zombie movie Sugar Hill. A third Count Yorga film was often rumored to be in the works, but never materialised. Quarry's career was further set back by a road accident that resulted in serious facial injuries (in which he was hit by a drunk driver), but he made several memorable guest appearances on TV shows, notably The Rockford Files episode, "Requiem For a Funny Box", as Lee Russo. He also played disfigured gunrunner Commander Corliss in the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century episode "Return of the Fighting 69th". In the 1980s and 1990s, he returned to film, becoming a favorite of director Fred Olen Ray. Quarry died at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California at the age of 83. Description above from the Wikipedia article Robert Quarry, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Luke Askew

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.   Luke Askew (born 1932 in Macon, Georgia, U.S.) is an American actor best known for his role in the 1969 film Easy Rider. Askew was born in Macon, Georgia. He made his film debut in Otto Preminger's Hurry Sundown (1967), but was first noticed as an actor for his role in the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke. He was one of the first actors daring to wear long hair in this era, which he had to hide under a hat during the filming of this movie. The next year he worked with John Wayne in The Green Berets (with his hair cut short). The following year he worked with Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda in Easy Rider. This film set him on the road to becoming a cult figure of modern cinema. Askew has continued to work as an actor since then, predominantly appeared as an actor on television series. This includes work on such series as: Bonanza, Mission: Impossible, The Rockford Files, The Six Million Dollar Man, T. J. Hooker, L.A. Law, MacGyver,Walker, Texas Ranger and HBO's Big Love. He has appeared frequently with Bill Paxton. He also took part in Easy Rider: Shaking the Cage (1999), a documentary about the making of the film on the Easy Rider DVD.[1] Askew sang Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Jimmy Reed songs at The Gaslight Cafe. According to Bob Dylan, Luke, when he sang at The Gaslight Cafe, was a "guy who sounded like Bobby Blue Bland" Description above from the Wikipedia article  Luke Askew licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Arnold Laven

Arnold Laven was an American film and television director and producer. He was one of the founders and principals of the American film and television production company Levy-Gardner-Laven. Laven was a producer of, among other things, the long-running western television series The Rifleman and The Big Valley. He also directed motion pictures, including Without Warning!, The Rack, The Monster That Challenged the World, Geronimo, Rough Night in Jericho, and Sam Whiskey. In the 1970s and early 1980s, Laven directed dozens of episodes of television series, including episodes of Mannix, The A-Team, Hill Street Blues, The Six Million Dollar Man, Fantasy Island, The Rockford Files and CHiPs.

Leif Erickson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Leif Erickson (born William Wycliffe Anderson) was an American stage, film, and television actor. Erickson was born in Alameda, California, near San Francisco. He worked as a soloist in a band as vocalist and trombone player, performed in Max Reinhardt's productions, and then gained a small amount of stage experience in a comedy vaudeville act. Initially billed by Paramount Pictures as Glenn Erickson, he began his screen career as a leading man in Westerns. Erickson enlisted in the United States Navy during World War II. Rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer in the Naval Aviation Photographic Unit, he served as a military photographer, shooting film in combat zones, and as an instructor. He was shot down twice in the Pacific as well as receiving two Purple Hearts. Erickson was in the unit that filmed and photographed the Japanese surrender aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945. Over four years service, he shot more than 200,000 feet of film for the Navy. Erickson's first films were two 1933 band films with Betty Grable before starting a string of Buster Crabbe Western films based on Zane Grey novels. He would go on to appears in films such as The Snake Pit, Sorry, Wrong Number, Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd, Invaders from Mars, On the Waterfront, A Gathering of Eagles, Roustabout, The Carpetbaggers and Mirage. One of his more notable roles was as Deborah Kerr's macho husband in the stage and film versions of Tea and Sympathy. He appeared with Greta Garbo, as her brother in Conquest (1937). He played the role of Pete, the vindictive boat engineer, in the 1951 remake of the famed musical Show Boat. His final appearance in a feature film was in Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977). Erickson appeared frequently on television; he was cast as Dr. Hillyer in "Consider Her Ways" (1964) and as Paul White in "The Monkey's Paw—A Retelling" (1965) on CBS's The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. However, he is probably best known for The High Chaparral, which aired on NBC from 1967 until 1971. He portrayed a rancher, Big John Cannon, determined to establish a cattle empire in the Arizona Territory while keeping peace with the Apache. Erickson guest-starred in several television series, including Rawhide, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Marcus Welby, M.D., Medical Center, Cannon, The Rifleman, The Rockford Files, and the 1977 series Hunter. His final role was in an episode of Fantasy Island in 1984. Erickson was married to actress Frances Farmer from 1936 until 1942. The same day that his divorce from Farmer was finalized, June 12, 1942, he married actress Margaret Hayes. They divorced a month later. He married Ann Diamond in 1945. They had two children, William Leif Erickson (born 1946 - died 1971 in a car accident) and Susan Irene Erickson (born 1950). Erickson died of cancer in Pensacola, Florida, on January 29, 1986, aged 74 CLR

Van Williams

You could shoehorn actor Van Williams right in there between the other tall, dark and drop-jaw gorgeous heartthrobs Tom Tryon and John Gavin of the late 1950s/early 1960s who conveyed a similar bland, heroic image. All three were too often given colorless heroes to play on film and/or TV -- roles that played off their charm but seldom tested their talent. Born on February 27, 1934 as Van Zandt Jarvis Williams, he was the son of a cattle rancher. He majored in animal husbandry and business at Texas Christian University but moved to Hawaii which changed the course of his life. While operating a salvage company and a skin-diving school during the mid-1950s, he was approached by Elizabeth Taylor and husband/producer Mike Todd, who were filming there. Encouraged by Todd to try his luck, Van arrived in Hollywood with no experience. Todd perished in a plane crash before he was able to help Van, but the young hopeful ventured on anyway, taking some acting/voice lessons, and was almost immediately cast in dramatic TV roles. Warner Brothers had a keen eye for this type of photogenic hunk and smartly signed Van. Fitting in perfectly, he was soon showing just how irresistible he was as a clean-cut private eye on the series "Bourbon Street Beat (1959)". Although the show lasted only one season, Warners carried his Kenny Madison character into the more popular adventure drama Surfside 6 (1960) opposite fellow pin-up / blond beefcake bookend Troy Donahue. Series-wise, Van tried comedy next opposite "Walter Brennan in The Tycoon (1964)". After his contract expired at Warners, 20th Century-Fox handed him his most vividly recalled role, that of the emerald-suited superhero "The Green Hornet (1966)" with the late Bruce Lee as his partner Kato. The show, inspired by the huge cult hit "Batman (1966)" enjoyed a fast start but, like its predecessor, met an equally untimely finish. Never a strong draw in films, Van revealed quite a bit of himself (literally) in his debut in "Tall Story (1960)" coming out of a shower. He was handed a typically staid second lead in "The Caretakers (1963)". Continuing well into the 1970s to guest sporadically on the TV scene in classics like "The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961)", "Love, American Style (1969)", "Mission: Impossible (1966)", "The Big Valley (1965)", "Nanny and the Professor (1970)", "Barnaby Jones (1973)", and "The Rockford Files (1974)". Another starring series attempt with "Westwind (1975)" failed to make the grade and he soon let his career go. Van went on quite successfully in business with telecommunications, real estate and law enforcement supplies among his ventures. With his glossy, pretty-boy years far behind him, he has not felt the need to look back except for an occasional autograph convention. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / [email protected]

Jeannot Szwarc

Director · Producer · Known for Heroes, Ironside, Smallville

Jeannot Szwarc (November 21, 1939 - January 14, 2025) was a French film director. Szwarc was born in Paris. He began working as a director in US television during the 1960s, in particular on Ironside. He is also associated with The Rockford Files, Kojak, Night Gallery, JAG, Bones, Numb3rs, and Columbo. His feature films include Bug (1975), Jaws 2 (1978), Somewhere in Time (1980), Supergirl (1984), and Santa Claus: The Movie (1985). Since then, he has mainly directed television movies and series. In 2003, Szwarc joined the crew of The WB television series Smallville as a director. One of the major episodes he directed was "Homecoming", the 200th episode of Smallville. He also directed six episodes of Heroes, at least once for each season.

David Chase

Writer · Known for The Rockford Files, The Sopranos

David Henry Chase (born August 22, 1945) is an American writer, producer, and director. He is best known for being the creator, head writer, and executive producer of the HBO drama The Sopranos, which aired for six seasons between 1999 and 2007. Chase has also produced and written for shows such as The Rockford Files, I'll Fly Away, and Northern Exposure. He created the original series Almost Grown which aired for 10 episodes in 1988 and 1989. He has won seven Emmy Awards. Chase's film debut came in 2012 with Not Fade Away, followed by The Many Saints of Newark (2021), a prequel film to the TV series The Sopranos.

Branscombe Richmond

Cast · Known for The Scorpion King, The Wrecking Crew, Batman Returns

Branscombe Richmond (born August 8, 1955) is a Native American actor, stuntman and singer who is equally capable of portraying cold-hearted villains on the one hand and warm-hearted, open "good guys" on the other, as evidenced by his huge grin and hearty laugh. The solidly built 6' 3" Richmond has regularly played the bad guy on-screen. He's been on the receiving end of the fists of Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando (1985), gotten pummeled by Carl Weathers in Action Jackson (1988) and tangled with Steven Seagal in Hard to Kill (1990). Richmond is the son of movie stuntman Leo C. Richmond and first broke into film and TV in the early 1970s with minor roles in shows such as "The Bionic Woman" (1976), "The Rockford Files" (1974) and "Magnum, P.I." (1980). From there he quickly picked up work in numerous made-for-TV movies and was kept busy throughout the 1980s and 1990s with appearances in such A-grade productions as Licence to Kill (1989), Best Seller (1987) and Batman Returns (1992). He even found himself in the children's film Curly Sue (1991). In early 1991 Richmond scored the key role of "Bobby Six Killer" in the bounty hunter-themed TV series "Renegade" (1992) starring alongside Lorenzo Lamas and Kathleen Kinmont. The series was quite successful and ran from 1992 to 1997, turning out over 100 episodes! Additionally, Richmond has starred in plenty of B-movie action films and has become quite a cult figure of the genre. Since the late 1990s, Richmond has remained busy on several fronts. He's continued acting in Hollywood, is the official spokesman for Indian Motorcycles and is the lead singer for the band "Branscombe Richmond and the Renegade Posse". He's also notched up numerous awards, including being voted "Native American Entertainer of the Year" and "Mr Showman" of the year by the Las Vegas Review Journal.

Sidney Clute

Sidney Richard Clute (April 21, 1916 – October 2, 1985) was an American film and television actor. He was notable for playing Detective Paul La Guardia in 57 episodes of the American police procedural drama Cagney & Lacey (1982–85). He also played Detective Simms in 10 episodes of McCloud. Clute guest-starred in numerous television programs including Hawaii Five-O, Emergency!, The Rockford Files, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, All in the Family, Adam-12 and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He also appeared in a few episodes of Lou Grant, Wagon Train, Hogan's Heroes, My Three Sons and Cannon. Clute died on October 2, 1985, of cancer at the St. George Hospital in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 69.