Gerald S. O'Loughlin obit

Gerald S. O’Loughlin, Star of 1970s ABC Cop Series ‘The Rookies,’ Dies at 93

He also starred in such films as 'In Cold Blood' and 'Ice Station Zebra' but turned down the lead role in 'The Love Boat.'

 

He was not on the list.

Gerald S. O’Loughlin, the veteran blue-collar character actor perhaps best known for playing Lieutenant Ryker on the 1970s ABC cop show The Rookies, has died. He was 93.

O’Loughlin died July 31 of natural causes at West Hills Hospital in Los Angeles, his son, Christopher, said. His father was a resident of the Motion Picture & Television Fund Retirement Home in Woodland Hills.

O’Loughlin played the real-life Harold Nye, who investigated the murders of four members of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kan., in Truman Copote’s In Cold Blood (1967), and appeared in such films as Joshua Logan’s Ensign Pulver (1964), Ice Station Zebra (1968) with Rock Hudson and The Organization (1971) opposite Sidney Poitier.

O’Loughlin also starred as neighbor Joe Kaplan in the 1980s NBC family drama Our House, starring Wilford Brimley, and played John Cappelletti Sr. in the tear-jerking 1977 CBS telefilm Something for Joey, which centered on a Heisman Trophy-winning running back from Penn State and his younger brother, who has leukemia.

The Rookies, about cops new to the job, ran on ABC from 1972 through 1976 and starred Georg Stanford Brown, Michael Ontkean and Kate Jackson. His Ed Ryker was the voice of reason who guided his untested troops with patience (and a dash of resignation).

“I sort of enjoyed being a lieutenant on The Rookies. Maybe because I was a lieutenant in the Marine Corps,” he said in a 2011 interview. “After The Rookies, they offered me The Love Boat [another show executive produced by Aaron Spelling]. The part that Gavin MacLeod got,” but he turned it down.

Asked why, he said: “Because I was insulted. This is a dilemma that only an actor can get into. I play lieutenants with the police department, I don’t play captains on an excursion cruiser! Playing The Rookies was so embedded in me, I scorned the other one. Today, I wish I had not reacted that way. I’d have a couple of million more dollars. I think they ran for eight years.”

O’Loughlin was born in New York City and raised in Spring Valley, N.Y. After serving with the Marines during World War II, he studied with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York on the G.I. Bill.

He then became a member of the famed Actors Studio when Meisner recommended him to Lee Strasberg. (O’Loughlin’s longtime friend, Martin Landau, moderated as O’Loughlin performed his final scene at the Studio on his 90th birthday).

O’Loughlin’s early acting years in New York included roles on Broadway in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest with Kirk Douglas, in Golden Boy with Lee J. Cobb and in the first revival of A Streetcar Named Desire as Stanley opposite Tallulah Bankhead as Blanche. He won an Obie Award for his work in Who’ll Save the Plowboy.

He also appeared in the William Inge play The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, where he met his longtime companion, the future Oscar-winning actress Sandy Dennis. (They lived in New York together for several years.)

On filming In Cold Blood, “It was a little shocking, going to the actual places where the murders took place in Kansas,” he recalled in the 2011 interview. “It was a little spooky. We actually shot the murders in the actual house where they took place. I was still drinking, so I had hangovers sometimes.”

O’Loughlin, who moved to Los Angeles in the early 1960s, was married to veteran casting executive and casting director Meryl O’Loughlin. She died in 2007.

In addition to his son, survivors include his daughter, Laura; daughter-in-law, Colleen Clinton, an actress; and grandsons Finnian and Maximilian.

A memorial service will be held on Sept. 12. For service details, please contact Chris O’Loughlin at chrisoloughlin67@gmail.com or the Motion Picture & Television Fund Retirement Home.

In lieu of flowers, his son asked that you “buy a good meal for someone down on their luck.”

Actor (118 credits)

 2008 Destinesia (Short)

Melvin

 2001 Judging Amy (TV Series)

Mr. Sadler

- Romeo and Juliet Must Die - Well, Maybe Just Juliet (2001) ... Mr. Sadler

 2001 Titans (TV Series)

Priest

- She Stoops to Conquer (2001) ... Priest

 2001 The Division (TV Series)

Stanley Morrison

- What Sharp Teeth You Have (2001) ... Stanley Morrison

 2000 3 Strikes

Judge (as Gerald O'Loughlin)

 1999 Chicago Hope (TV Series)

Jack

- Vanishing Acts (1999) ... Jack

 1998 The Secret Kingdom

Chartwell

 1997 ER (TV Series)

George

- Ambush (1997) ... George

 1996 Crime of the Century (TV Movie)

Commissioner ORyan

 1985-1993 Murder, She Wrote (TV Series)

Father Timothy / Ben Oliver / Capt. Joe Rawlings / ...

- A Killing in Cork (1993) ... Father Timothy

- Badge of Honor (1992) ... Ben Oliver

- Class Act (1989) ... Capt. Joe Rawlings

- Tough Guys Don't Die (1985) ... Ray Kravitz

 1992 In the Arms of a Killer (TV Movie)

Art Seidensticker

 1990-1991 Equal Justice (TV Series)

Ted Bauer / Mr. Bauer

- Part of the Plan (1991) ... Ted Bauer

- A Sucker's Bet (1990) ... Mr. Bauer

 1990 Snoops (TV Series)

Justice Henry Fortier

- Rough Justice (1990) ... Justice Henry Fortier

 1986-1988 Our House (TV Series)

Joe Kaplan

- Artful Dodging (1988) ... Joe Kaplan

- Neighborhood Watch (1988) ... Joe Kaplan

- The Fifth Beatle (1988) ... Joe Kaplan

- The Ashton Street Gang (1988) ... Joe Kaplan

- Out of Step (1988) ... Joe Kaplan

1986 Alvin Goes Back to School (TV Short)

Ben McMasters

 1986 Bridges to Cross (TV Series)

Jack Allward

- Looks Like Up to Me (1986) ... Jack Allward

 1986 Perry Mason: The Case of the Notorious Nun (TV Movie)

Monsignor Kyser

 1986 Quicksilver

Mr. Casey

 1986 Child's Cry (TV Movie)

Sam Van Buren

 1986 Under Siege (TV Movie)

General Lord (uncredited)

 1985 Brothers-in-Law (TV Movie)

Bud Oliver

 1985 T.J. Hooker (TV Series)

Don Burnett

- Homecoming (1985) ... Don Burnett

 1985 Highway to Heaven (TV Series)

Mr. Henry Parks

- The Brightest Star (1985) ... Mr. Henry Parks

 1984 City Heat

Counterman Louie

 1984 Crimes of Passion

Ben (uncredited)

 1984 Riptide (TV Series)

Brigadier General Doug 'Pittbull' Johnson

- The Orange Grove (1984) ... Brigadier General Doug 'Pittbull' Johnson

 1984 Cover Up (TV Series)

Steinmetz

- Harper-Gate (1984) ... Steinmetz

 1984 London and Davis in New York (TV Movie)

Sam Gains

 1983-1984 Automan (TV Series)

Capt. E. G. Boyd

- Club Ten (1984) ... Capt. E. G. Boyd

- Death by Design (1984) ... Capt. E. G. Boyd

- Zippers (1984) ... Capt. E. G. Boyd

- Murder, Take One (1984) ... Capt. E. G. Boyd

- Murder MTV (1984) ... Capt. E. G. Boyd

1984 Too Close for Comfort (TV Series)

Frank

- Shipmates (1984) ... Frank

 1983 Dusty (TV Movie)

Tim Halloran

 1983 The Powers of Matthew Star (TV Series)

Max

- Starr Knight (1983) ... Max

 1983 Matt Houston (TV Series)

Victor Macey

- A Deadly Parlay (1983) ... Victor Macey

 1983 Simon & Simon (TV Series)

Cleve Rafelson

- Room 3502 (1983) ... Cleve Rafelson

 1977-1983 Quincy M.E. (TV Series)

Arnold Chatham / Jake Carter / Adam Beal

- A Loss for Words (1983) ... Arnold Chatham

- Smoke Screen (1982) ... Jake Carter

- Holding Pattern (1977) ... Adam Beal

 1982 Fame (TV Series)

Mr. Schwartz

- Homecoming (1982) ... Mr. Schwartz

 1982 Frances

Lobotomy Doctor

 1982 M*A*S*H (TV Series)

Gen. Franklin Schwerin

- Bombshells (1982) ... Gen. Franklin Schwerin (as Gerald O'Loughlin)

 1982 The Blue and the Gray (TV Mini Series)

Sgt. O'Toole

- Part 3 (1982) ... Sgt. O'Toole

- Part 2 (1982) ... Sgt. O'Toole

- Part 1 (1982) ... Sgt. O'Toole

 1982 Code Red (TV Series)

Sam Powell

- Riddle in the Flames (1982) ... Sam Powell

 1982 Trapper John, M.D. (TV Series)

Barnell

- Angel of Mercy (1982) ... Barnell

 1981 McClain's Law (TV Series)

Sid Lammon

- Pilot (1981) ... Sid Lammon

 1981 Charlie's Angels (TV Series)

Jake Webner

- Stuntwomen Angels (1981) ... Jake Webner

 1981 A Matter of Life and Death (TV Movie)

Mr. Duffy

 1980 Pleasure Palace (TV Movie)

Benny Marfo

 1980 Wilson's Reward (TV Movie)

Ginger Ted Wilson

 1980 Detour to Terror (TV Movie)

Martin Brain

 1979 Blind Ambition (TV Mini Series)

John J. 'Jack' Caufield / John J. Caufield

- Part IV (1979) ... John J. 'Jack' Caufield

- Part III (1979) ... John J. 'Jack' Caufield

- Part II (1979) ... John J. 'Jack' Caufield

- Part I (1979) ... John J. Caufield

 1979 Roots: The Next Generations (TV Mini Series)

Captain Bowker

- Part IV (1918-1921) (1979) ... Captain Bowker

 1979 Women in White (TV Movie)

Richard Payson

 1978 Crash (TV Movie)

Larry Cross

 1978 The Eddie Capra Mysteries (TV Series)

- Nightmare at Pendragon Castle (1978)

 1978 Wheels (TV Mini Series)

Rusty Horton

- Episode #1.1 (1978) ... Rusty Horton

 1977 A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story (TV Movie)

Joe McCarthy

 1977 Something for Joey (TV Movie)

John Cappelletti Sr

 1977 Murder at the World Series (TV Movie)

Moe Gold

 1977 Twilight's Last Gleaming

Brig. Gen. O'Rourke

 1972-1976 The Rookies (TV Series)

Lt. Ed Ryker / Lt. Ryker

- Journey to Oblivion (1976) ... Lt. Ed Ryker

- Deliver Me from Innocence (1976) ... Lt. Ed Ryker

- Blue Movie, Blue Death (1976) ... Lt. Ed Ryker

- The Mugging (1976) ... Lt. Ed Ryker

- From Out of the Darkness (1976) ... Lt. Ed Ryker

1972 The New Centurions

Vice Squad Member (uncredited)

 1972 The Valachi Papers

Ryan (as Gerald O'Loughlin)

 1972 Room 222 (TV Series)

Sid LeRoi

- The Quitter (1972) ... Sid LeRoi

 1972 Cannon (TV Series)

Cody Woodman

- A Flight of Hawks (1972) ... Cody Woodman

 1966-1972 The F.B.I. (TV Series)

Larry Kulhane / Victor Kiley / Carl Munger

- The Set-Up (1972) ... Larry Kulhane

- Fatal Impostor (1970) ... Victor Kiley

- Ordeal (1966) ... Carl Munger

 1972 Cade's County (TV Series)

Ed Kaproski

- Slay Ride: Part 2 (1972) ... Ed Kaproski

- Slay Ride: Part 1 (1972) ... Ed Kaproski

 1971 Nichols (TV Series)

Roarke

- The Marrying Fool (1971) ... Roarke

 1971 Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law (TV Series)

Sgt. Saul Morris

- The Baby Sitter (1971) ... Sgt. Saul Morris

 1971 Sarge (TV Series)

Sigmund Hess

- Quicksilver (1971) ... Sigmund Hess

 1968-1971 Mission: Impossible (TV Series)

Frank Delaney / Bert Gordon

- Shape-Up (1971) ... Frank Delaney

- The Killing (1968) ... Bert Gordon

 1971 The Organization

Jack Pecora

 1971 Desperate Characters

Charlie

 1970-1971 Men at Law (TV Series)

Devlin McNeil / Thatcher

- One American (1971) ... Devlin McNeil

- The View from the Top (1971) ... Devlin McNeil

- Let the Dier Beware (1971) ... Devlin McNeil

- The Climate of Doubt (1971) ... Devlin McNeil

- The Pastures of Hell (1970) ... Thatcher

1971 Dan August (TV Series)

Dominic Lazar

- Death Chain (1971) ... Dominic Lazar

 1969-1970 Ironside (TV Series)

Lt. Jimmy Burwell / Sergeant Arnie Vernon

- The Man on the Inside (1970) ... Lt. Jimmy Burwell

- Not with a Whimper, But a Bang (1969) ... Sergeant Arnie Vernon

 1970 The Young Lawyers (TV Series)

Pete Roberts

- The Russell Incident (1970) ... Pete Roberts

 1969-1970 Hawaii Five-O (TV Series)

Sam Kavanaugh / Carl Swanson / Charlie Swanson

- And a Time to Die... (1970) ... Sam Kavanaugh

- Six Kilos (1969) ... Carl Swanson

- The Box (1969) ... Charlie Swanson

 1970 The Bold Ones: The Senator (TV Series)

Sgt. Traynor

- To Taste of Death But Once (1970) ... Sgt. Traynor

 1970 Then Came Bronson (TV Series)

Herman Morse

- The Mary R (1970) ... Herman Morse

 1970 The Virginian (TV Series)

Lute Dormer Sr.

- Train of Darkness (1970) ... Lute Dormer Sr.

 1969 D.A.: Murder One (TV Movie)

Sgt. Andrushian

 1969 Medical Center (TV Series)

Buddy Pakeman

- Emergency in Ward E (1969) ... Buddy Pakeman

 1969 Riot

Grossman

 1968 Judd for the Defense (TV Series)

Ernie Jenkins

- A Swim with Sharks (1968) ... Ernie Jenkins

 1968 Ice Station Zebra

Lt. Cdr. Bob Raeburn

 1968 Mannix (TV Series)

Charlie Anderson

- Comes Up Rose (1968) ... Charlie Anderson

 1968 Premiere (TV Series)

Brandon

- Lassiter (1968) ... Brandon

 1968 The Felony Squad (TV Series)

Cal Wolff

- Nightmare on a Dead-End Street (1968) ... Cal Wolff

 1968 Cimarron Strip (TV Series)

Sgt. Maj. Chambers

- The Sound of a Drum (1968) ... Sgt. Maj. Chambers

 1967 In Cold Blood

Harold Nye

 1967 The Green Hornet (TV Series)

Ben Wade

- The Hornet and the Firefly (1967) ... Ben Wade

 1966 Run for Your Life (TV Series)

Ralph Bronson / Timothy

- Tears from a Glass Eye (1966) ... Ralph Bronson / Timothy

 1966 A Man Called Adam

Red - the Sheriff

 1966 A Fine Madness

Chester Quirk

 1965 The Doctors (TV Series)

Peter Banas

- Episode #1.625 (1965) ... Peter Banas

- Episode #1.621 (1965) ... Peter Banas

- Episode #1.612 (1965) ... Peter Banas

- Episode #1.608 (1965) ... Peter Banas

- Episode #1.572 (1965) ... Peter Banas

1965 Gunsmoke (TV Series)

Grant Shay

- Twenty Miles from Dodge (1965) ... Grant Shay

 1965 For the People (TV Series)

McVeigh

- To Prosecute All Crimes (1965) ... McVeigh

 1962-1965 The Defenders (TV Series)

Bart Steele / Bernie Jackman / Hank Robinson

- The Silent Killer (1965) ... Bart Steele (as Gerald O'Loughlin)

- Kill or Be Killed (1963) ... Bernie Jackman (as Gerald O'Loughlin)

- The Unwanted (1962) ... Hank Robinson (as Gerald O'Loughlin)

 1964 12 O'Clock High (TV Series)

Maj. Joe Morse

- Here's to Courageous Cowards (1964) ... Maj. Joe Morse (as Gerald O'Loughlin)

 1964 Ensign Pulver

LaSueur (as Gerald O'Loughlin)

 1959-1964 Brenner (TV Series)

Plotkin / Jim Gaines

- Charlie Paradise: The Tragic Flute (1964) ... Plotkin (as Gerald O'Loughlin)

- Blind Spot (1959) ... Jim Gaines

 1964 Dr. Kildare (TV Series)

Gus Pochek

- Speak Not in Angry Whispers (1964) ... Gus Pochek

 1963 Alcoa Premiere (TV Series)

Steve

- Of Struggle and Flight (1963) ... Steve (as Gerald O'Loughlin)

 1963 Naked City (TV Series)

Mr. Hackett

- The Highest of Prizes (1963) ... Mr. Hackett (as Gerald O'Loughlin)

 1962 Ben Casey (TV Series)

Joe Dawson

- Of All Save Pain Bereft (1962) ... Joe Dawson (as Gerald O'Loughlin)

 1962 Going My Way (TV Series)

Mr. Bianchi

- A Man for Mary (1962) ... Mr. Bianchi

 1961 The Asphalt Jungle (TV Series)

Allie Jonay

- The Fighter (1961) ... Allie Jonay

 1961 Our American Heritage (TV Series)

Grogan

- The Secret Rebel (1961) ... Grogan

 1961 Sunday Showcase (TV Series)

Grogan

- Our American Heritage: The Secret Rebel (1961) ... Grogan

 1961 The United States Steel Hour (TV Series)

Joe

- The Two Worlds of Charlie Gordon (1961) ... Joe (as Gerald O'Loughlin)

 1960-1961 Play of the Week (TV Series)

Andy / Roses' husband

- A Clearing in the Woods (1961) ... Andy (as Gerald O'Loughlin)

- A Piece of Blue Sky (1960) ... Roses' husband (as Gerald O'Loughlin)

 1960 The Witness (TV Series)

- Police Lt. Charles Becker (1960)

 1958 Cop Hater

Detective Mike Maguire (as Gerald O'Loughlin)

 1957 A Hatful of Rain

Chuch (as Gerald O'Loughlin)

 1956 Lovers and Lollipops

Larry (as Gerald O'Loughlin)

 1952-1954 The Philco Television Playhouse (TV Series)

- Statute of Limitations (1954)

- Three Sundays (1952)

- A Man's Game (1952)

 1952-1953 Mister Peepers (TV Series)

Bus Driver / Howard

- The Bus Trip (1953) ... Bus Driver

- Sis Peepers Visits (1952) ... Howard

 1952 Goodyear Playhouse (TV Series)

- The Darkness Below (1952)

- Tour of Duty (1952) ... (as Jerry O'Loughlin)

 1952 Suspense (TV Series)

- The Man in the Mirror (1952)

 1952 Guiding Light (TV Series)

Lt. Carl Wyatt (1965)