Washington: Kevin Dobson, an actor best known for his starring roles on the CBS shows ‘Kojak’ and ‘Knots Landing,’ died on Sunday (local time). He was 77.
According to Variety, the United Veterans Council of San Joaquin County announced Dobson’s death on Monday afternoon. He served as a former chairman of the organisation.
Dobson, who was a former Army soldier and Long Island Rail Road conductor, began his acting career in the late 1960s. He first appeared on shows like ‘One Life to Live,’ ‘The Doctors,’ ‘The Mod Squad,’ ‘Emergency!’ and ‘Cannon.’ His first major role came on ‘Kojak,’ where he played detective Bobby Crocker, opposite star Telly Savalas’ lead role as lieutenant Theo Kojak. The show aired for five seasons on CBS from 1973-1978, and Dobson reunited with the cast for the 1990 TV movie ‘Kojak: It’s Always Something.’
As per Variety, during its fourth season in 1982–Dobson joined the cast of the primetime soap opera ‘Knots Landing’. He played Marion Patrick ‘Mack’ MacKenzie, the love interest and eventual husband of star Michele Lee’s character Karen MacKenzie. He was a main cast member of the series until its cancellation in 1993 after 14 seasons. He and the cast reunited for a miniseries called ‘Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-De-Sac’ in 1997. For his role, he earned five Soap Opera Digest Awards throughout his career.
He appeared on several other soap operas, like ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’ as judge Devin Owens from 2006-2007 and ‘Days of Our Lives’ as Mickey Horton in 2008. His other credits included ‘House of Lies,’ ‘Hawaii Five-0’ and ‘Anger Management.’
Dobson is survived by his wife Susan and their three children.