George Murdock obit

Character actor George Murdock dies

Appeared on 'Barney Miller,' 'Battlestar,' 'Star Trek'

 

He was not on the list.

Character actor George Murdock, best known as Lt. Scanlon on “Barney Miller,” Dr. Salik on “Battlestar Galactica” and “God” in “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier,” died April 30 in Los Angeles. He was 81.

Murdock racked up more than 200 credits in TV and film over the course of a career that spanned more than five decades.

In another connection to “Star Trek,” Murdock played Admiral J.P. Hanson in two episodes of “The Next Generation.”

The actor also appeared onstage, originating the role of Judge Julius Hoffman in the Odyssey Theater’s 1979 production of “The Chicago Conspiracy Trial” (and reprising the role 25 years later). As one of the original members of the Melrose Theater, Murdock performed in many plays with the troupe, most notably, “Lester Sims Retires Tomorrow,” which later moved to Off Broadway.

The actor began a steady stream of smallscreen roles in the early 1960s with credits in “Twilight Zone,” “The Untouchables, “77 Sunset Strip.” Later came roles in “Hawaii Five-O,” “Mod Squad,” “Ironside,” “Gunsmoke,” “McCloud,” “Lou Grant” and “The Rockford Files.” He played generals in miniseries “The Winds of War” and “War and Remembrance,” and he was a regular on the brief Yakov Smirnoff vehicle “What a Country” in 1986. Later credits included “L.A. Law,” “ER,” the “X Files” series and movie and “CSI.”

With his characteristic gravitas, Murdock was a natural to play judges, and he did so repeatedly not only onstage but also on television (“Law and Order,” “Judging Amy”) and in film (“Timescape,” “Final Analysis”).

Born in Salina, Kansas, Murdock is survived by his wife, Cathy, and a stepdaughter.

A remembrance of Murdock will be held Sunday, May 20, at 2 p.m. at the Odyssey Theater, 2055 South Sepulveda Blvd., L.A.

Filmography

 

    The Twilight Zone (Episode: "The Dummy") (1962, TV Series) as Willie

    The Untouchables (1962, TV Series) as Pete Topchinski / Gus Dmytryk

    Pressure Point (1962) as Rally Speaker (uncredited)

    77 Sunset Strip (1963, TV Series) as Frank Syden

    He Rides Tall (1964) as Burt

    Taggart (1964) as Army Scout (uncredited)

    Combat! (1965, TV Series) as Marcus

    I Spy (1965, TV Series) as Mariner

    Bonanza (1965-1970, TV Series) as Luis Getty / Marks / Floyd

    Ben Casey (1965) as Byron B. Davis

    The F.B.I. (1965-1974, TV Series) as Dirken / Vic Kirby / Al Evans

    Tarzan (1966-1967, TV Series) as Eric / Damian / Karl

    Gunn (1967) as Archie

    Batman (1967) as one of Catwoman's henchmen

    The Wild Wild West (1967, TV Series) as Luther Coyle

    Gunsmoke (1967-1974, TV Series) as Luke / Cole Matson / Bret Gruber / Jim Travers

    Ironside (1968-1974, TV Series) as Sheriff / Phil Wagner / Jim Peters / Lee R. Anderson / FBI Agent Torrence / Capt. Walter Finch / Victor Cramer

    Blackbeard's Ghost (1968) as Head Official

    Cimarron Strip (1968, TV Series) as Bladgey

    The Virginian (1969, TV Series) as Barton

    Night Gallery (1969, TV Series) as 1st Agent

    It Takes a Thief (1970, TV series) as Devon

    Hawaii Five-O (1971, TV Series) as Hank Merrill

    The Mod Squad (1971, TV Series) as Price

    The Todd Killings (1971) as Police Officer

    Adam-12 (1971, TV Series) as Mr. Williams

    Bearcats! (1971, TV Series) as Coot Leonard

    McCloud (1972-1974, TV Series) as Sergeant Rosovitch / Officer Duncan

    The Mack (1973) as Fatman

    The New Perry Mason (1973, TV Series) as Sgt. Dave Cook

    The Magician (1973, TV Series) as Timothy Dunagan

    Willie Dynamite (1974) as Celli

    Thomasine & Bushrod (1974) as U.S. Marshal Bogardie

    The Six Million Dollar Man (1974, TV Series) as Rossi

    Hangup (1974) as Captain Gorney

    Earthquake (1974) as Colonel

    The Streets of San Francisco (1974-1977, TV Series) as Harlan Betts / Dempsey / Merle

    The Invisible Man (1975, TV Series) as Captain Scopes

    Police Woman (1975, TV Series) as Hogan / Macon

    Barney Miller (1976-1982, TV Series) as Lt. Ben Scanlon

    Little House on the Prairie (1977, TV Series) as Jeremy Stokes

    Breaker! Breaker! (1977) as Judge Joshua Trimmings

    Thunder and Lightning (1977) as Jake Summers

    Lou Grant (1977, TV Series) as Sgt. Irwin Winowsky

    The Rockford Files (1978, TV Series) as Doc Holliday

    The Dukes of Hazzard (1979, TV Series) as Big Jim Downey

    The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo (1979-1981, TV Series) as Mr. Sheldon / Mayor Hawkins

    Any Which Way You Can (1980) as Sgt. Cooley

    Trapper John, M.D. (1981, TV Series) as Jobo's Dad

    Shoot the Moon (1982) as French DeVoe

    Bosom Buddies (1982, TV Series) as Elliot Pardo

    T.J. Hooker (1982, TV Series) as Detective Jackson

    The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982) as Quade

    Hill Street Blues (1982, TV Series) as Buck Remington

    Benson (1982, TV Series) as Officer Grimsby

    The Winds of War (1983) as Brig. Gen. 'Fitz' Fitzgerald

    I'm Going to Be Famous (1983)

    Knight Rider (1983-1984, TV Series) as Archibald / Judge Oliver Callan

    Night Court (1984, TV Series) as Detective Griffin / Sergeant Foster / Hank Mire / Womack

    Fame (1985, TV Series) as Mr. Pulaski

    Certain Fury (1985) as Lt. Speier

    Murder, She Wrote (1985, TV Series) as Officer Kaplan

    Small Wonder (1986, TV Series) as Mr. Gordon

    Retribution (1987) as Dr. John Talbot

    Dynasty (1988, TV Series) as Charlie Braddock

    Midnight Caller (1989, TV series) as Sam Chase

    War and Remembrance (1989, TV Mini-Series) as Gen. Leslie Groves

    Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) as The "God" entity

    L.A. Law (1989, TV Series) as Sam

    Star Trek: The Next Generation (1990, TV Series) as Admiral J. P. Hanson

    Timescape (1992) as Judge Caldwell

    Final Analysis (1992) as Judge Costello

    Batman: The Animated Series (1992, TV Series) as Boss Biggis (voice)

    Law & Order (1992-1999, TV Series) as Judge Eric Bertram

    Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993, TV Series) as Burton Newcomb

    Firepower (1993) as Captain Croy

    Seinfeld (1994, TV Series) as Testikov

    Plughead Rewired: Circuitry Man II (1994) as Senator Riley

    Molly & Gina (1994) as Patrick Sweeny

    The Nanny (1995, TV Series) as Dakota Williams

    Tyson (1995, TV Movie) as Baranski

    The American President (1995) as Congressman

    Crosscut (1996) as Uncle Leo

    Chicago Hope (1996, TV Series) as Judge John Spencer

    ER (1996, TV Series) as Mr. Sidowski

    The Gregory Hines Show (1997, TV Series) as Samuel Lawrence

    Mike Hammer, Private Eye (1997, TV Series) as Cleve Baxter

    Scorpio One (1998) as CIA Director Wilfrid Parlow

    Early Edition (1998, TV Series) as Dutch Van Drie

    Anarchy TV (1998) as Chief Cochon

    Just Shoot Me! (1998, TV Series) as Sea Captain

    Phoenix (1998) as Sid

    The X-Files (1998-1999, TV Series) as Elder #2 / 2nd Elder

    The X-Files: Fight the Future (1998) as 2nd Elder

    The Adventures of Ragtime (1998) as Captain Murphy

    The Norm Show (1999, TV Series) as Probation Officer

    Family Tree (1999) as Big Wig

    Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming (1999, Short) as Dr. Salik

    Time Share (2000) as Cedric Templeton

    Judging Amy (2000-2002, TV Series) as Judge Norman Artel

    2000x (NPR/Hollywood Theater of the Ear radio series)

    Smallville (2001, TV Series) as Old Harry Bollston

    Orange County (2002) as Bob Beugler

    The Dead Zone (2002, TV Series) as Arthur Allen

    Legend of the Phantom Rider (2002) as The Judge

    Spider's Web (2002) as Robert Harding

    Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003) as Acme VP, Unfairly Promoted

    Serial Killing 4 Dummys (2004) as Detective Ray Berro

    CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2005, TV Series) as Stuart Manslow

    One More Round (2005) as Mr. Mack

    Man in the Chair (2007) as Richard Butler

    Say It in Russian (2007) as Warden

    Eagleheart (2011, TV Series) as Fred

    Torchwood: Miracle Day (2011, TV Series) as Preacher

    Dispatch (2011) as Himself