Samuel Gardner Melville (August 20, 1936 – March 9, 1989) was an American film and television actor. He appeared as a guest star on many television programs of the 1960s and 1970s.

Career

He portrayed Officer Mike Danko in four seasons of Aaron Spelling's ABC series ''

The Rookies ''The Rookies'' is an American police procedural series created by Rita Lakin that originally aired on ABC from September 11, 1972, to March 30, 1976. It follows the exploits of three rookie police officers working in an unidentified city for ...

'', and The Bear in the 1978 surfing movie '' Big Wednesday'', with

Celia Kaye Celia Kaye (born February 24, 1942) is an American actress. She starred in the 1964 film adaptation of '' Island of the Blue Dolphins'' which won her a Golden Globe award. Early life Kaye is of German and Cherokee descent and was born in Cart ...

as his unnamed "bride". Melville also had small parts in '' Hour of the Gun'' (1967) playing the role of

Morgan Earp Morgan Seth Earp (April 24, 1851 – March 18, 1882) was an American sheriff and Marshal, lawman. He served as Tombstone, Arizona, Tombstone, Arizona Territory, Arizona's Special Policeman when he helped his brothers Virgil Earp, Virgil and W ...

, '' The Thomas Crown Affair'' (1968) starring

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of counterculture of the 1960s, 1960s counterculture, made him a top box office draw for his films of the late ...

, as Lieutenant James Crandall / Schmidt on ''

Hogan's Heroes ''Hogan's Heroes'' is an American television sitcom created by Bernard Fein and Albert S. Ruddy which is set in a Prisoner-of-war camp, prisoner-of-war (POW) camp in Nazi Germany during World War II, and centers around a group of Allied prisoner ...

'' (1966), and the television disaster film '' Terror in the Sky'' (1971) as the co-pilot. On ''

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

'' and '' Hawaii Five-O'', both on CBS, he played villains as a guest-star. However, on the episode "A Mule ... Like the Army's Mule" of the syndicated anthology series ''

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American Western (genre), Western anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was ...

'', Melville portrayed United States Army Lt. Jason Beal, who befriended Sandy King, played by

Luke Halpin Luke Austin Halpin (born April 4, 1947) is a retired American actor, stuntman, marine coordinator, diver and pilot. He became a child actor at the age of eight and is widely known for his role as Sandy Ricks in the feature films ''Flipper (1963 ...

, the youngest member of the Curly Bill Brocius outlaw gang. In 1967, he guest starred in an episode of the CBS western, '' Dundee and the Culhane''. The Rookies cast 1975

In 1970, Melville was cast as Indian agent John Clum in the ''Death Valley Days'' episode, "Clum's Constabulary", hosted by Dale Robertson. In the story line, Clum recruits an elite team of Apaches to aid the U.S. Cavalry in the Southwest but faces opposition within the white community. Tris Coffin was cast as Captain Loren Phillips and John Considine as Lago. Melville again portrayed a villain on the 1980s CBS drama ''

Scarecrow and Mrs. King ''Scarecrow and Mrs. King'' is an American television series that aired from October 3, 1983, to May 28, 1987, on CBS. The music underscore was composed by Arthur B. Rubinstein. The show starred Kate Jackson and Bruce Boxleitner, as divorced ...

'', which starred

Kate Jackson Lucy Kate Jackson (born October 29, 1948), known professionally as Kate Jackson, is an American actress and television producer, known for her television roles as Sabrina Duncan in the series ''Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1979) and Amanda King i ...

as Mrs. King, and he later portrayed Mrs. King's ex-husband and father of her children on that series. He also played opposite Kate Jackson as her husband in the 1970s series ''The Rookies.'' He guest starred as a jewel thief, alongside

Janie Fricke Jane Marie Fricke ( ; born December 19, 1947), known professionally as Janie Fricke, is an American country music singer, record producer, and clothing designer. She has placed seventeen Single (music), singles in the top ten of the US ''Billboa ...

, in a seventh season episode of CBS's ''

The Dukes of Hazzard ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy television series created by Gy Waldron that aired on CBS from January 26, 1979, to February 8, 1985, with a total of seven seasons consisting of List of The Dukes of Hazzard episodes, 147 ...

'' titled "Happy Birthday, General Lee". Melville was born in Fillmore,

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, and died from

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He was survived by his wife, Annie.

Filmography

References

External links

* * 1936 births 1989 deaths American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Utah People from Fillmore, Utah Male actors from Los Angeles Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) 20th-century American male actors {{US-screen-actor-1930s-stub