Lew Saunders (born October 6) is an American film and television actor. He is known for playing Officer Gene Fritz in 28 episodes of the American

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

television series ''

CHiPs ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The seri ...

'' from 1977 to 1979. Saunders appeared for the Atlanta Falcons football team. He began his acting career in 1975, when he appeared in the

police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eithe ...

television series '' Bronk''. Saunders guest-starred in television programs including ''

The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American action-adventure television series that ran on NBC from January 1983 to March 1987 about former members of a fictitious United States Army Special Forces unit. The four members of the team were tried by court m ...

'', '' L.A. Law'', '' Riptide'', '' Trapper John, M.D.'', ''

Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, et ...

'', ''

Hardcastle and McCormick ''Hardcastle and McCormick'' is an American action crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 18, 1983, through May 5, 1986. The series stars Brian Keith as Judge Milton C. Hardcastle and Daniel Hugh Kelly as ex-con and r ...

'', ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The ser ...

'', '' Quincy, M.E.'', ''

Jake and the Fatman ''Jake and the Fatman'' is an American crime drama television series starring William Conrad as prosecutor J. L. (Jason Lochinvar) "Fatman" McCabe and Joe Penny as investigator Jake Styles. The series ran on CBS for five seasons from Septemb ...

'', ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

'' and ''

Matt Houston ''Matt Houston'' was an American crime drama television series starring Lee Horsley as the title character, a wealthy oilman who decides to hold a side job as a private investigator. Created by Lawrence Gordon and produced by Aaron Spelling, ...

''. He also appeared in the films ''

Cocktail A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely acr ...

'', '' Terror Among Us'' and '' Demonoid'' (as Sergeant Leo Matson). From 1977 to 1979 Saunders played Officer Gene Fritz in the first two seasons, and one episode of the third, in the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

series ''

''. Saunders retired in 1998, last appearing in the

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

television film '' The Rat Pack'', where he played Big John.

References

External links

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Rotten Tomatoes profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Lew Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) American male television actors American male film actors 20th-century American male actors 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people