Stanley Kamel (January 1, 1943 – April 8, 2008) was an American actor. From 2002 until his death in 2008, he played Dr. Charles Kroger on the American television series ''

Monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

''.

Biography

Kamel was born to a Jewish family and raised in South River, New Jersey. He attended Rutgers Preparatory School and

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

, graduating with a BFA in 1965. He started his acting career

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

and broke into television with a role in ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...

'' (1972–76) as the second actor to play the character of "Eric Peters". Kamel began appearing on television in 1968, appearing in many episodic one-off appearances over decades (including ''

The Mod Squad ''The Mod Squad'' is an American crime drama series, originally broadcast for five seasons on ABC from September 24, 1968, to March 1, 1973. It starred Michael Cole as Peter "Pete" Cochran, Clarence Williams III as Lincoln "Linc" Hayes, Pegg ...

'', ''

Barney Miller ''Barney Miller'' is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th Street in Greenwich Village (Lower Manhattan). The series was broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Janu ...

'', ''

Kojak ''Kojak'' is an American Action film, action Crime film, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theophilus "Theo" Kojak. Tak ...

'', '' Lou Grant'', '' Quincy M.E.'', '' Hill Street Blues'', ''

L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher for NBC. It ran for eight seasons and List of L.A. Law episodes, 172 episodes from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. The series cente ...

'', ''

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 series f ...

'', '' Cagney & Lacey'', '' Matlock'', '' Hooperman'', ''

Father Dowling Mysteries ''Father Dowling Mysteries'', known as ''Father Dowling Investigates'' in the United Kingdom, is an American mystery television series first aired from January 20, 1989, to May 2, 1991. The series was preceded by the 1987 television movie ''Fat ...

'', '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

The Nanny ''The Nanny'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from November 3, 1993, to June 23, 1999, starring Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, a Jewish wikt:fashionista, fashionista from Flushing, Queens, who becomes the nanny of three children ...

'', and ''

The Lazarus Man ''The Lazarus Man'' is an American Western television series produced by Castle Rock Entertainment which first aired on January 20, 1996, and ended on November 23, 1996. Starring Robert Urich as the title character, ''The Lazarus Man'' debuted on ...

''). He had a recurring role on '' Melrose Place'' in 1994 as Bruce Teller, the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of D&D Advertising, where Amanda (

Heather Locklear Heather Deen Locklear (born September 25, 1961) is an American actress known for her role as Amanda Woodward on '' Melrose Place'' (1993–1999), for which she received four consecutive Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress – Television Se ...

) and Allison (

Courtney Thorne-Smith Courtney Thorne-Smith (born 1966 or 1967) is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Alison Parker on '' Melrose Place'', Georgia Thomas on '' Ally McBeal'', and Cheryl Mabel on '' According to Jim'', as well as her recurrin ...

) were employed. During the first part of the sixth season of ''

Beverly Hills, 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to as ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling via his production company Spelling Television. The series ran for 10 seasons on Fo ...

'', Kamel appeared on several episodes as Anthony Marchette, an organized crime figure. Kamel was best known for his role as Dr. Charles Kroger in the

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

television series ''

'', playing the infinitely patient and ever-supportive psychiatrist to the main character, Adrian Monk (

Tony Shalhoub Anthony Marc Shalhoub ( ; ; born October 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is known for a variety of roles ranging from comedic to dramatic on stage and screen. He has received several accolades including five Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, s ...

). Though his last appearance was in the sixth season of ''Monk'', clips of his character were seen in the series finale.

Death

On April 8, 2008, Kamel was found dead of a heart attack in his

Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills is a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. It borders Studio City, Universal City and Burbank on the north, Griffith Park on the north and east, Los Feliz on the southeast, Hollyw ...

home. He was 65. "Mr. Monk Buys a House", the premiere episode of the seventh season of ''Monk'', was dedicated to his memory and included a mention of his character (Dr. Kroger) dying of a heart attack. The final shot of the episode was a close-up of a photo of Kamel, as Dr. Kroger, on Monk's fireplace mantle. Kamel never married and had no children.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Stanley Kamel
at the Internet Broadway Database * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kamel, Stanley 1943 births 2008 deaths 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male actors Actors from Middlesex County, New Jersey American male film actors American male soap opera actors American male stage actors American male television actors Boston University alumni Jewish American male actors Male actors from New Jersey People from South River, New Jersey Rutgers Preparatory School alumni