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. He portrayed Officer Mike Danko in four seasons of

Aaron Spelling Aaron Spelling (April 22, 1923 June 23, 2006) was an American film and television producer and occasional actor. His productions included the TV series ''Family'' (1976–1980), '' Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), ''The Love Boat'' (1977–1986 ...

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

series ''

The Rookies ''The Rookies'' is an American police procedural series that aired on ABC from 1972 until 1976. It follows the exploits of three rookie police officers working in an unidentified city for the fictitious Southern California Police Department (SC ...

'', and The Bear in the 1978 surfing movie ''

Big Wednesday ''Big Wednesday'' is a 1978 American coming of age film directed by John Milius. Written by Milius and Dennis Aaberg, it is loosely based on their own experiences at Malibu, California. The picture stars Jan-Michael Vincent, William Katt, and Gary ...

'', with

Celia Kaye Celia Kaye (born Celia Kay Burkholder; February 24, 1942) is an American actress. She is most famous for her starring role in the 1964 film adaptation of '' Island of the Blue Dolphins'' which won her a Golden Globe award. Early life Kaye is ...

as his unnamed "bride". Melville also had small parts in ''

Hour of the Gun ''Hour of the Gun'' is a 1967 Western film depicting Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday during their 1881 battles against Ike Clanton and his brothers in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and the gunfight's aftermath in and around Tombstone, Arizona, ...

'' (1967) playing the role of

Morgan Earp Morgan Seth Earp (April 24, 1851 – March 18, 1882) was an American sheriff and lawman. He served as Tombstone, Arizona's Special Policeman when he helped his brothers Virgil and Wyatt, as well as Doc Holliday, confront the outlaw Cochise C ...

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

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, as Lieutenant James Crandall / Schmidt on ''

Hogan's Heroes ''Hogan's Heroes'' is an American television sitcom set in a Nazi German prisoner-of-war (POW) camp during World War II. It ran for 168 episodes (six seasons) from September 17, 1965, to April 4, 1971, on the CBS network, the longest broadcast ...

'' (1966), and the television disaster film ''

Terror in the Sky ''Terror in the Sky'' is a 1971 television film remake of 1957's ''Zero Hour!'', which itself was based on the 1956 television play ''Flight into Danger''. Arthur Hailey recycled the premise in his book ''Runway Zero-Eight'' which was co-written ...

'' (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 centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...

'' and ''

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'', both on

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, 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 old-time radio and television 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 ...

'', Melville portrayed United States Army Lt. Jason Beal, who befriended

Sandy King Sandy King (1852? – November 9, 1881) was an outlaw of the Old West, and a member of the loosely knit gang the Cowboys in Cochise County, Arizona Territory, during the period when the outlaws clashed with deputy U.S. Marshal Virgil Earp in Tom ...

, played by

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, the youngest member of the

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outlaw gang. In 1967, he guest starred in an episode of the CBS western, ''

Dundee and the Culhane ''Dundee and the Culhane'' is an American Western drama series starring John Mills and Sean Garrison that aired on CBS from September 6 to December 13, 1967. Synopsis ''Dundee and the Culhane'' follows the exploits of two frontier lawyers who pro ...

''. In 1970, Melville was cast as Indian agent

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in the ''Death Valley Days'' episode, "Clum's Constabulary", hosted by

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. 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 Tristram Chockley Coffin (August 13, 1909 – March 26, 1990) was a film and television actor from the latter 1930s through the 1970s, usually in westerns or other B-movie action-adventure productions. Early years Coffin's mother was actre ...

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 September 10, 1987, on CBS. The show starred Kate Jackson and Bruce Boxleitner, as divorced housewife Amanda King and top-level "Agency" operative ...

'', which starred

Kate Jackson Lucy Kate Jackson (born October 29, 1948) 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 in the series ''Scarecrow and Mrs. Kin ...

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, songwriter, record producer, and clothing designer. She has placed seventeen singles in the top ten of the ''Billboard'' Ho ...

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

The Dukes of Hazzard ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy TV series that was aired on CBS from January 26, 1979 to February 8, 1985. The show aired for 147 episodes spanning seven seasons. It was consistently among the top-rated television series ...

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

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, and died from

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

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. 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