Ed Peck (March 26, 1917 – September 12, 1992) was an American actor. He is best known as Officer Kirk in ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most su ...

'' (1975–1983).

Early life

Peck was born in New York City on March 26, 1917.

Career

Peck played a captain in the Broadway production of ''No Time for Sergeants'' (1955). He was active in television and in films from 1951 to 1983, specializing in playing either police officers or military officers. In 1951, Peck replaced Eric Fleming in the title role of ''

Major Dell Conway of the Flying Tigers ''Major Dell Conway of the Flying Tigers'' was an early American television program broadcast on the now defunct DuMont Television Network. The series ran from April 7, 1951 to March 2, 1952. Broadcast history The show was an action-adventure seri ...

'' on the

DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, simply DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of bein ...

. In 1969 Peck appeared as the Hotel Manager on the TV Series '' The Virginian'' in the episode titled "Journey to Scathelock." One of his highest profile parts was among his last, in the television series ''

'', in the recurring role as police officer Kirk from 1975 to 1983. When he left the series in 1983, he retired from acting. He also played a police officer similar to Officer Kirk in at least one episode of the television series ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series '' Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...

'' and two episodes of ''

Barney Miller ''Barney Miller'' is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th St in Greenwich Village. The series was broadcast on ABC Network from January 23, 1975, to May 20, 1982. It was created ...

'' as patrolman (later officer) Frank Slater. Peck was an announcer on ''

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'', a variety program on NBC-TV in 1953–1954. He also was a member of the cast of the summer 1972 television

situation comedy A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

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'', portraying Officer Clark, a tenant in a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

apartment building. He also guest-starred on dozens of television series including '' The Untouchables'', ''

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 cli ...

'', '' The Fugitive'', ''

Kentucky Jones ''Kentucky Jones'' is an American comedy-drama television series starring Dennis Weaver which centers around a widowed Southern California veterinarian and rancher raising an adopted Chinese boy. Original episodes aired from September 19, 1964, u ...

'', ''

Get Smart ''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s, with the release of the '' James Bond'' films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, ...

'', ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vario ...

'' (" Tomorrow Is Yesterday", 1967), ''

Cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder duri ...

'', and ''

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 ...

'', as well as films such as ''

Heaven Can Wait Heaven Can Wait may refer to: * ''Heaven Can Wait'' (1943 film), a comedy based on the stage play ''Birthday'' by Leslie Bush-Fekete * ''Heaven Can Wait'' (1978 film), an American football comedy starring Warren Beatty; a remake of the 1941 film ...

'', ''

Bullitt ''Bullitt'' is a 1968 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Peter Yates and produced by Philip D'Antoni. The picture stars Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, and Jacqueline Bisset. The screenplay by Alan Trustman, Alan R. Trustman and H ...

'', '' Cheech and Chong's Next Movie'', and ''

The Prisoner of Second Avenue ''The Prisoner of Second Avenue'' is a 1975 American black comedy film directed and produced by Melvin Frank and starring Jack Lemmon and Anne Bancroft. The film was adapted from the 1971 play by Neil Simon. Plot The story revolves around the e ...

''. He played the Governor's director of security, Captain McDermott, on several episodes of '' Benson''. He played a rabbi in an episode of ''

The Dick Van Dyke Show ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' is an American television sitcom created by Carl Reiner that initially aired on CBS from October 3, 1961 to June 1, 1966, with a total of 158 half-hour episodes spanning five seasons. It was produced by Calvada Prod ...

''.

Personal life

On January 20, 1952, Peck married advertising copywriter Phyllis Houston in New York.

Death

Peck died of a heart attack on September 12, 1992, in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...

, at the age of 75.

Filmography (partial)

References

External links

* 1917 births 1992 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from New York (state) {{US-tv-actor-1910s-stub