Donnelly Rhodes obit

Donnelly Rhodes, ‘The Flash’ and ‘Soap’ Actor, Dies at 80

The Canadian character actor played the hapless escaped con Dutch Leitner on the ABC soap opera spoof series and Doc Cottle on 'Battlestar Galactica.'

 He was not on the list.

Canadian actor Donnelly Rhodes, best known for character roles like the hapless escaped con Dutch Leitner on ABC‘s soap opera spoof Soap and Doc Sherman Cottle on Battlestar Galactica, has died. He was 80.

Rhodes died Jan. 8 after a battle with cancer at the Baillie House Hospice in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, according to a statement from the Northern Exposure talent agency. Rhodes’ other major TV credits include Vancouver-shot series like The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Da Vinci’s Inquest and Tron: Legacy.

Rhodes was born Dec. 4, 1937, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and first tried his hand in theater while in the Royal Canadian Air Force. After studying at the Manitoba Theatre Center and the National Theatre School, he joined the Stratford Festival in 1963, where he played Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire.

After roles on varied CBC TV series, Rhodes went to Hollywood and became a contract player for Universal Pictures, where he appeared in movies like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and TV series like Wagon Train, Dr. Kildare, Golden Girls and Mission Impossible. In 1973, Rhodes boarded the American soap opera The Young and the Restless.

That was followed by a stint on the CBC crime drama Sidestreets back in Canada. His other major roles included Dr. Grant Roberts on Danger Bay and Detective Leo Shannon on the CBC drama Da Vinci’s Inquest.

Rhodes also had recurring roles on another CBC drama, Street Legal, and on Battlestar Galactica as Dr. Cottle from 2004 to 2009. Battlestar Galactica writer-producer Ronald Moore on his Twitter account expressed his sadness at Rhodes’ passing, writing: “He was a lovely man and I so enjoyed writing for him. Admired his work ever since Soap. He will be missed.”

Fellow Battlestar Galactica actor Tricia Helfer added on her Twitter account: “Saddened to hear of Donnelly Rhodes passing. Loved working with him on BSG. A lovely man who made a terrific Doc Cottle. RIP.” 

Filmography

Film

Year     Title            Role            Notes

1956            Reprisal!          Buck   

1957    The 27th Day            Television Technician            Uncredited

1967            Gunfight in Abilene            Joe Slade            Uncredited

1969    Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid            Macon

1969    Change of Mind            Roger Morrow          

1973    The Neptune Factor            Diver Bob Cousins    

1973    The Hard Part Begins  Jim King    

1976            Goldenrod       Keno McLaughlin     

1980    Oh! Heavenly Dog            Montanero      

1984    Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac            Arland D. Williams Jr.            TV movie

1987    After The Promise            Dr. Northfield            TV movie

1989    The Penthouse            Lt. Valeri  

1991    The Legend of Kootenai Brown            'McTooth'      

1996    Urban Safari   Harry  

1997            Indefensible: The Truth About Edward Brannigan            Jack Bailey   TV movie

2001            Touched by a Killer            Bernie Gordon           

2002            Pressure          Sheriff Cooper           

2002    Snow Dogs    Race Official #1       

2009            Damage          Deacon           

2010    Goblin            Charlie            TV movie

2010            Ramona and Beezus            Crusty Photographer   

2010    Hunt to Kill       Sheriff Westlake         

2010    Tron: Legacy            Grandpa Flynn

2011    Marley & Me: The Puppy Years            Fred Grogan

2012            Barricade        Sheriff Howes

2013    Mr. Hockey: The Gordie Howe Story    NHL Lawyer TV movie

 

Television

Year     Title            Role            Notes

1960            Bonanza          Latigo / Little Henchman            2 episodes

1965–1966            Laredo            Don Carlos / Bob Jamison            2 episodes

1964-1965            The Alfred Hitchcock Hour    John Cochran            Episodes: "The Trap," "Ten Minutes From Now"

1965    Wagon Train            Jeremiah Stewart            Episode: "The Wanda Snow Story"

1966    The Road West            Red Eagle            Episode: "Pariah"

1966    The Virginian            Ben Colby            Episode: "The Wolves Up Front, the Jackals Behind"

1967    Custer            War Cloud            Episode: "Dangerous Prey"

1967    Mannix            Ramon Verona            Episode: "The Cost Of A Vacation"

1967    Dundee and the Culhane            Michael            Episode: "The Vasquez Brief"

1967    Tarzan            Hank            Episode: "Hotel Hurricane"

1967    The Wild Wild West    Captain Dansby            Episode: "The Night of the Legion of Death" S3 E12

1968–1972            Mission: Impossible            Joel Morgan / Lou Merrick / Raymond Barret   3 episodes

1973    The Starlost Roloff            "The Implant People"

1978–1981            Soap            Dutch Leitner  38 episodes (Season 2-4)

1979    The New Adventures of Wonder Woman            Ward Selkirk            Episode: "A Date with Doomsday"

1980    The Chisholms            Franciscan priest            Episode: "The Siren Song"

1982    Report to Murphy            Charlie            6 episodes

1982    Cheers            Leo            Episode: "Sam's Women"

1982    The Facts of Life            Sal Largo            Episode: "Jo's Cousin"

1982    Taxi            Angelo (Tony's father)            Episode: "Travels with My Dad"

1982–1983            Hill Street Blues            Judge Paul Grogin            4 episodes

1983            Magnum PI     Wilson Arthur MacLeish            Episode: "Of Sound Mind"

1983    Gimme a Break!            Mayor            Episode: "The Centerfold: Part 2"

1983            Amanda's        Mr. Johnson            Episode: "You Were Meant for Me"

1984    Alice            Frank            Episode: "Tommy Goes Overboard"

1984–1985            Double Trouble            Art Foster  9 episodes

1985–1990            Danger Bay      Dr. Grant Roberts            122 episodes

1987    The Golden Girls            Jake Smollens            Episode: "Diamond in the Rough"

1988    Empty Nest            Leonard            Episode: "Harry's Friend"

1988–1993            Murder, She Wrote            William Mahaffy / Ned Jenks / Ed Bellamy            3 episodes

1989            Bordertown      John Quincy McGraw            1 episode: "Keenan's Raiders"

1991–1992            Street Legal    R.J. Williams            10 episodes

1993    The X-Files     Jim Parker            Episode: "Shapes"

1996-1997            The Outer Limits (1995)  Senator / General James Eiger    2 episodes

1997            Millennium        Peter Dumont            Episode: "Broken World"

1997    The Sentinel            Don Dominick Lazar            Episode: "Inside Man"

1998    The Young and the Restless            Phillip Chancellor II            2 episodes

1998–2005            Da Vinci's Inquest            Leo Shannon            91 episodes

1999    Hope Island   Jake Mitchum            Episode: "Look One Way and Row Another"

2000    Call of the Wild            Thadeus P. Rossmore            Episode: "Betrayal"

2004–2009            Battlestar Galactica            Chief Medical Officer Dr. Cottle            36 episodes

2005–2013            Supernatural    Father Simon / Mr. Shaw    2 episodes

2006            Whistler           Daniel Wallace            Episode: "In the Air"

2007    Psych            Judge Horace Leland            Episode: "Cloudy... With a Chance of Murder"

2008            Smallville          Milash            Episode: "Quest"

2008    The L Word   Colonel Jon Smythe            Episode: "Lesbians Gone Wild"

2010    Human Target            Guerrero's Friend            Episode: "Pilot"

2010            Heartland        Eli Stark            Episode: "The Slippery Slope"

2013    Arctic Air       Virgil Haggard            Episode: "Skeletons in the Closet"

2015–2016            The Romeo Section            Mr. Decker – Rufus Decker's father            2 episodes

2016    The Flash    Agent Smith            Episode: "Invasion!"

2016            Legends of Tomorrow            Agent Smith            Episode: "Invasion!"