Dennis Patrick (born Dennis Patrick Harrison; March 14, 1918 – October 13, 2002) was an American

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

, primarily in television.

Early years

Patrick was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

Career

Patrick is known for his work in television shows. He portrayed Patrick Chase in the syndicated drama ''

Rituals A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...

'' (1984), Vaughn Leland in CBS's ''

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

'', Jack Breen in the ABC crime drama ''

Bert D'Angelo/Superstar ''Bert D'Angelo/Superstar'' (shown as ''Bert D'Angelo'' in Britain) is an American police drama that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC on Saturday Nights from February 21 to July 10, 1976. The series was produced by Quinn Martin. The se ...

'' (1976), and Sergeant Pat O'Dennis in the syndicated comedy ''The Cliffwood Avenue Kids'' (1977). He made four guest appearances on ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a c ...

'', three of them as the murder victim: Martin Selkirk in the 1959 episode, "The Case of the Deadly Toy", Martin Somers in the 1962 episode, "The Case of the Tarnished Trademark", and golf pro Chick Farley in the 1966 episode, "The Case of the Golfer's Gambit". and as Prosecutor Darryl Teshman in the 1960 episode "The Case of the Prudent Prosecutor". Among his other television appearances were the roles of Jason McGuire and Paul Stoddard in ''

Dark Shadows ''Dark Shadows'' is an American gothic soap opera that aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971. The show depicted the lives, loves, trials, and tribulations of the wealthy Collins family of Collinspo ...

'', Mac in ''

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

'', and in such films as '' The Time Travelers'' (1964), '' Daddy's Gone A-Hunting'' (1969), '' Joe'' (1970), ''

Dear Dead Delilah ''Dear Dead Delilah'' is a 1972 American slasher film written and directed by John Farris and starring Agnes Moorehead, Will Geer, Michael Ansara, Dennis Patrick, Anne Meacham, and Robert Gentry. It follows a group of family members in a dilapid ...

'', (1972) and ''

Nightmare Honeymoon ''Nightmare Honeymoon'' is a 1974 American crime-thriller film directed by Elliot Silverstein, starring Dack Rambo and Rebecca Dianna Smith. Plot Newlyweds David and Jill Webb (Dack Rambo and Rebecca Dianna Smith) want nothing more than to co ...

'' (1974). He also was a stage actor, having won the Theater World Award for his starring role in ''The Wayward Saint''. He also portrayed

Jean Paul Marat Jean-Paul Marat (; born Mara; 24 May 1743 – 13 July 1793) was a French political theorist, physician, and scientist. A journalist and politician during the French Revolution, he was a vigorous defender of the '' sans-culottes'', a radica ...

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in ''Marat Sade''. Patrick appeared in more than 1,800 guest roles on television programs during his four-decade career, including stints on ''

Tales of Tomorrow ''Tales of Tomorrow'' is an American anthology science fiction series that was performed and broadcast live on ABC from 1951 to 1953. The series covered such stories as ''Frankenstein'' starring Lon Chaney Jr., '' 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'' ...

'' (1952), '' Kraft Theatre'' (1949–57), ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central chara ...

'' (1958), ''

Playhouse 90 ''Playhouse 90'' was an American television anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology drama series of th ...

'' (1958), ''

Sugarfoot ''Sugarfoot'' is an American Western television series that aired for 69 episodes on ABC from 1957-1961 on Tuesday nights on a "shared" slot basis – rotating with ''Cheyenne'' (first season); ''Cheyenne'' and ''Bronco'' (second season); and ...

'' (1959), '' Buckskin'' (1959), ''

Peter Gunn ''Peter Gunn'' is an American private eye television series, starring Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn with Lola Albright as his girlfriend, Edie Hart. The series aired on NBC from September 22, 1958, to 1960 and on ABC in 1960–1961. The seri ...

'' (1959), '' U.S. Marshal'' (1959-1960), ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American television private detective drama series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long (from 1960 to 1961) and Edd Byrnes (billed as Edward Byrnes). Each episode was o ...

'' (1960), ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on ...

'' (1960, as Sam Bord in the episode "The Hopefuls"), '' Wanted: Dead or Alive'' (1960), ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was r ...

'' (1960–61); ''

Hawaiian Eye ''Hawaiian Eye'' is an American detective television series that ran from October 1959 to April 1963 on the ABC television network. Premise Private investigator Tracy Steele ( Anthony Eisley) and his half-Hawaiian partner, Tom Lopaka ( Robert ...

'' (1962), '' The Virginian'' (episode "Big Day, Great Day" 1962), '' Laramie'' (1960-1963), ''

'' (1959-1966), ''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

'' (as Hoot Hinkley in "The Tiger Inside", 1963), ''

The Dakotas The Dakotas is a collective term for the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota. It has been used historically to describe the Dakota Territory, and is still used for the collective heritage, culture, geography, fauna, sociology, econo ...

'' (1963), ''

Lost in Space ''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series, created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. The series was inspired by the 1812 novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson.'' The series fo ...

'' (1966, as Keema "The Golden Man"), '' The Big Valley (TV series)'' (1969, as Ed Crawford in "The Battle of Mineral Springs"), ''

'' (1967-1970), ''

Emergency! ''Emergency!'' is an American action-adventure medical drama television series jointly produced by Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. Debuting on NBC as a midseason replacement on January 15, 1972, replacing the two short-lived situa ...

'' (three episodes, 1972-1975), and ''

'' (1979-1984). Dennis Patrick also appeared in a ''

Barnaby Jones ''Barnaby Jones'' is an American detective television series starring Buddy Ebsen as a formerly retired investigator and Lee Meriwether as his widowed daughter-in-law, who run a private detective firm in Los Angeles, California. The show was o ...

'' episode titled "Dangerous Summer" (02/11/1975), in '' Quincy, M.E.'', (three episodes, 1979–82) and in ''

The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book a ...

'' (as Buck Hendricks, a big game hunter looking to help news reporter Jack McGee capture "The Jolly Green Giant"). He also appeared as Walter Hart in ''

The Rockford Files ''The Rockford Files'' is an American detective drama television series starring James Garner that aired on the NBC network from September 13, 1974 to January 10, 1980, and remains in syndication. Garner portrays Los Angeles private investiga ...

'', season 2, episode 6: "The Great Blue Lake Land and Development Company". Patrick played Sheriff George Patterson in the film '' House of Dark Shadows'' (1970). He was television's first vampire (as Dennis Harrison) in a 1950 episode of ''

Stage 13 ''Stage 13'' is a 30-minute American anthology television series produced and directed and hosted by Wyllis Cooper Wyllis Oswald Cooper (January 26, 1899 – June 22, 1955) was an American writer and producer. He is best remembered for cre ...

'' (1950).

Personal life

On October 13, 2002, Patrick died next to his pet poodle as fire swept his four-story home in

Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills are a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Geography The Hollywood Hills straddle the Cahuenga Pass within the Santa Monica Mountains. The neighborhood touches Studio City, Un ...

, California. He was 84. Patrick was suffering from cancer, needed

kidney dialysis Kidney dialysis (from Greek , , 'dissolution'; from , , 'through', and , , 'loosening or splitting') is the process of removing excess water, solutes, and toxins from the blood in people whose kidneys can no longer perform these functions natur ...

, and rarely left the house.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Patrick, Dennis 1918 births 2002 deaths Male actors from Philadelphia Male actors from Los Angeles American male film actors American male television actors American male soap opera actors American people of Irish descent 20th-century American male actors Accidental deaths in California Deaths from fire in the United States