Robert LeRoy Sampson (May 10, 1933 – January 18, 2020) was an American actor. He was known for playing the role of Father Mike Fitzgerald in the American

sitcom 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 ...

television series ''

Bridget Loves Bernie ''Bridget Loves Bernie'' is an American sitcom created by Bernard Slade. Depicting an interfaith marriage between a Catholic woman and a Jewish man, ''Bridget Loves Bernie'' was based loosely on the premise of the 1920s Broadway play and 1940s ra ...

''.

Life and career

Sampson was born 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 world' ...

, the son of Roy Sampson. He began his career in 1954, as appearing in the television series ''

Meet Corliss Archer ''Meet Corliss Archer'' is an American radio program from radio's Golden Age that ran from January 7, 1943, to September 30, 1956. Although it was CBS's answer to NBC's ''A Date with Judy'', it was also broadcast by NBC in 1948 as a summer repla ...

''. Sampson also guest-starred in numerous television programs including '' Gunsmoke'', ''

The Outer Limits (1963 TV series) ''The Outer Limits'' is an American television series that was broadcast on ABC from September 16, 1963, to January 16, 1965, at 7:30 PM Eastern Time on Mondays. It is often compared to ''The Twilight Zone'', but with a greater emphasis on ...

'', ''

Star Trek: The Original Series ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that follows the adventures of the starship and its crew. It later acquired the retronym of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' (''TOS'') to distinguis ...

'', '' Mission: Impossible'', '' Bonanza'', ''

Dr. Kildare Dr. James Kildare is a fictional American medical doctor, originally created in the 1930s by the author Frederick Schiller Faust under the pen name Max Brand. Shortly after the character's first appearance in a magazine story, Paramount Pictur ...

'', ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

'', ''

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea ''Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'' is a 1961 American science fiction disaster film, produced and directed by Irwin Allen, and starring Walter Pidgeon and Robert Sterling. The supporting cast includes Peter Lorre, Joan Fontaine, Barbara Eden, M ...

'', '' Green Acres'', '' Hawkins'', ''

The Jeffersons ''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history, ...

'', and '' Police Story''. He also appeared in films such as ''

Re-Animator ''Re-Animator'' (also known as ''H. P. Lovecraft's Re-Animator'') is a 1985 American comedy horror film loosely based on the 1922 H. P. Lovecraft serial novelette "Herbert West–Reanimator". Directed by Stuart Gordon and produced by Brian Yuzn ...

'' (as Dean Halsey), ''

City of the Living Dead ''City of the Living Dead'' ( it, Paura nella città dei morti viventi, lit=Fear in the city of the living dead, also released as ''The Gates of Hell'') is a 1980 Italian supernatural horror film co-written and directed by Lucio Fulci. It stars ...

'', '' Mr. Ricco'', ''

The Dark Side of the Moon ''The Dark Side of the Moon'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Pink Floyd, released on 1 March 1973 by Harvest Records. The album was primarily developed during live performances, and the band premiered an early version of ...

'', ''

Robot Jox ''Robot Jox'' is a 1990 American Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic Mecha science fiction film, science-fiction film directed by Stuart Gordon and starring Gary Graham, Anne-Marie Johnson and Paul Koslo. Co-written by scien ...

'', '' The Sky's the Limit'', '' Look in Any Window'' and ''

Mad Dog Coll Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll (born Uinseann Ó Colla, July 20, 1908 – February 8, 1932) was an Irish-American mob hitman in the 1920s and early 1930s in New York City. Coll gained notoriety for the allegedly accidental killing of a young child dur ...

''. Later in his career, Sampson co-starred in the film ''The Restless Ones'', in which he was in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He also co-starred in the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

television series ''

'', where Sampson played the role of Bridget Steinberg's priest-brother Father Mike Fitzgerald, in which the character Bridget Steinberg is played by

Meredith Baxter Meredith Ann Baxter (born June 21, 1947) is an American actress and producer. She is known for her roles on the CBS sitcom '' Bridget Loves Bernie'' (1972–73), ABC drama series ''Family'' (1976–80) and the NBC sitcom ''Family Ties'' (1982 ...

. Sampson also played the recurring role of Sheriff Turk Tobias in the

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

television series '' Falcon Crest''. He was also a friend of actor

Paul Trinka Paul Francis Trinka (January 26, 1932 – December 28, 1973) was an American film and television actor. He was known for playing Patterson in the American science fiction television series ''Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea''. Life and career ...

Death

Sampson died in January 2020 in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Co ...

, at the age of 86.

References

External links

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Rotten Tomatoes profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sampson, Robert 1933 births 2020 deaths People from Los Angeles Male actors from Los Angeles American male film actors American male television actors American male soap opera actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Western (genre) television actors