Alex Cord obit

Alex Cord Dies: ‘Airwolf’ Regular & Prolific Character Actor Was 88

 

He was not on the list.

Alex Cord, who co-starred with Jan-Michael Vincent and Ernest Borgnine in the 1980s attack-helicopter series Airwolf and had a long career onscreen, died Monday morning at his home in Valley View, TX. He was 88.

His publicist and friend of 20 years, Linda McAlister, confirmed the news to Deadline.

Cord had been working in films and TV for more than 20 years before he landed his signature role as the mysterious, eyepatch-sporting Archangel on Airwolf. The CBS drama debuted in 1984 — the year all three broadcast networks bowed helicopter dramas following the theatrical success of Blue Thunder. Airwolf starred Vincent as Stringfellow Hawke, a brooding loner who was tasked with recovering the titular attack copter from its creator, who had stolen the craft with plans to sell Airwolf to Libya.

Cord was his contact at the Firm, an ultrasecret government group that recruited Hawke. Nattily dressed in crisp white suit, cane and that eyepatch, Archangel teamed with an old war buddy, Dominic Santini (Borgnine) on missions for the Firm. The midseason-replacement series never really clicked in its Saturday night slot, failing to make the year-end Top 30 primetime shows in the three-network universe. CBS canceled the show in July 1986, and it went on to air for a season on USA Network with a new cast.

While that would be Cord’s signature role, he had scores of others — ranging from guest slots on such classic series as Route 66, Night Gallery, Gunsmoke, Mission: Impossible, Police Story and The Six Million Dollar Man to a lead in the short-lived 1978 NBC primetime soap W.E.B. He played Jack Kiley, the no-nonsense programming chief at Transatlantic Broadcasting System, a fictional TV network whose behind-the-scenes drama fueled the series. It lasted for about a half-dozen episodes.

He also was a regular on Cassie & Company, Angie Dickinson’s follow-up series to Police Story. Cord played her ex-husband and DA Mike Holland on the NBC detective drama, which aired 13 episodes in 1982.

He also appeared in films, starring alongside Ann-Margret, Mike Connors, Bing Crosby and others in 1966’s Stagecoach. Other film roles included Synanon, The Last Grenade The Brotherhood, Stiletto and The Dead Are Alive!

Cord is among a handful of actors to appear on both the original and revival versions of CBS's Mission: Impossible. Cord also is known to science fiction enthusiasts for having portrayed Dylan Hunt in the failed 1973 television pilot Genesis II, which was created by Gene Roddenberry. In 1977, he starred as the title character in the epic western Grayeagle.

In 1972, he appeared as Pete Brown in the episode "The Sodbusters" of Gunsmoke. In 1973, he played the role of Haynes in "The Night of the Long Knives" on The F.B.I., starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. From 1973 to 1976, he appeared in four episodes of Police Story. In 1979 and 1981, he appeared twice on The Love Boat. In 1988, Cord was cast in an episode of Simon and Simon; in 1988 and 1992, he appeared on Jake and the Fatman. He also appeared in an episode of the War of the World, a TV series. He appeared twice in Murder, She Wrote, starring Angela Lansbury. In 1995, Cord played the character Larry Curtis in the episode "The Guardians" of Walker, Texas Ranger.

 

Born on May 3, 1933, on Long Island, Cord battled polio as a child and became a prolific horseman. He parlayed those skills into acting gigs in the popular Western genre of the late 1950s and early ’60s.

Cord continued to work onscreen throughout the 1980s and ’90s, guesting on such hit dramas as Murder, She Wrote, Simon & Simon, Jake and the Fatman and Walker, Texas Ranger.

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Filmography

Film

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1962      The Chapman Report      Bardelli                 Uncredited

1965      Synanon               Zankie Albo        

1966      Stagecoach         The Ringo Kid    

1968      A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die             Clay McCord      

1968      The Brotherhood             Vince Ginetta    

1969      Stiletto Count Cesare Cardinali  

1970      The Last Grenade             Kip Thompson  

1971      The Tell-Tale Heart          The Murderer    Short film

1972      The Dead Are Alive          Professor Jason Porter  

1974      Chosen Survivors              Steven Mayes   

1975      Inn of the Damned           Cal Kincaid         

1977      Sidewinder 1      Packard Gentry

1977      Grayeagle            Grayeagle           

1984      Jungle Warriors                 Nick Spilotro      

1987      Uninvited            Walter Graham Direct-to-video

1990      Street Asylum    Captain Bill Quinton       

1990      A Girl to Kill For                 Mike / Wino      

1991      Joey Takes a Cab                              

1992      Roots of Evil       Jake      

1992      The Naked Truth               Herskovitz          

1993      CIA Code Name: Alexa    Victor Mahler   

1993      To Be the Best   Jack Rodgers      Direct-to-video

1995      Hologram Man Governor Hampton         Direct-to-video

2001      Air Rage               General Harlan Prescott                Direct-to-video

2009      Fire from Below                General Mark 'Stonewall' Jackson            

Television

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1961      Laramie                John Sanford      Episode: "The Mountain Men"

1961      Ben Casey            Frank Paulson    Episode: "Pavane for a Gentle Lady"

1961      Frontier Circus   Nino Sanchez     Episode: "Winter Quarters"

1962      Cain's Hundred Larry Rome         Episode: "Take a Number: Jack Garsell"

1962–1963          Naked City          Dick Wilkes / Nicholas Kovar        2 episodes

1963      Armstrong Circle Theatre              Juri Mishukov    Episode: "Invitation to Treason"

1963      Alcoa Premiere Tomas Caliban   Episode: "The Hat of Sergeant Martin"

1963      The Nurses         Dr. Brian              Episode: "Circle of Choice"

1963      BBC Sunday-Night Play   Jerry Rogers        Episode: "The Joker"

1963–1964          Route 66              Michael Tiffin / Rick Decatur / Jack / Raymond    5 episodes

1964      ITV Play of the Week       Alvaro   Episode: "The Rose Tattoo"

1964      East Side/West Side        Sam       Episode: "If Your Grandmother Had Wheels"

1965      Branded               Jed Colbee          Episode: "Survival"

1967      Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre                Lucky Paxton      Episode: "The Lady Is My Wife"

1967      The Scorpio Letters         Joe Christopher                 Television film

1971      Night Gallery      Erik Sutton          Segment: "Keep in Touch - We'll Think of Something"

1972      Gunsmoke          Pete Brown         Episode: "The Sodbusters"

1972      Mission: Impossible        Peter Cordel       Episode: "Crack-Up"

1972      Insight   Tom Slade           Episode: "Killer"

1973      Genesis II             Dylan Hunt          Television film

1973      The F.B.I.             Haynes Episode: "Night of the Long Knives"

1973–1976          Police Story        Officer Jackson Holt / William Allen / Bill Stryker - The Cowboy / Scully     4 episodes

1974      Born Free            Paul Morgan - The Vet   Episode: "The Trepassers"

1975      Matt Helm          Gallagher             Episode: "Murder on Ice"

1976      Joe Forrester                      Episode: "Squeeze Play"

1976      The Quest           McWhorley         Episode: "The Buffalo Hunters"

1976      Police Woman   Bass       Episode: "Tennis Bum"

1976      The Six Million Dollar Man            Dave Harraway Episode: "Task Force"

1977      Fire!       Dr. Alex Wilson Television film

1977      Have I Got a Christmas for You   Dan Levine          Television film

1978      W.E.B.   Jack Kiley             5 episodes

1979      Beggarman, Thief             Evans Kinsella    Television film

1979–1981          The Love Boat    Hank Welker / Mr. Barrett            2 episodes

1980–1984          Fantasy Island    Paul Horner / Ra-Mas / Captain Juan Arguello / Kyle Mason / Robert West              5 episodes

1981      Best of Friends Bill          Television film

1981      Goliath Awaits   Dr. Sam Marlowe             Television film

1982      Cassie & Co.        Mike Holland     13 episodes

1984      Airwolf Michael Coldsmith Briggs III         Television film

1984      Hotel     Preston Dwyer Episode: "Flesh and Blood"

1984–1986          Airwolf Michael Coldsmith Briggs III / Archangel                 55 episodes

1986      Murder, She Wrote         Preston Bartholomew    2 episodes

1987      The Law & Harry McGraw             Alec Harris          Episode: "The Fallen Arrow"

1988      The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission           Dravko Demchuk              Television film

1988      Simon & Simon Roland Vicente / Harry Lubash    Episode: "The Richer They Are the Harder They Fall"

1988      War of the Worlds           Marcus Madison Mason                Episode: "The Good Samaritan"

1988      Monsters             John Thunston   Episode: "Rouse Him Not"

1989      Freddy's Nightmares       The General       Episode: "Memory Overload"

1989      Mission: Impossible        Daniel Travers   Episode: "For Art's Sake"

1989–1992          Jake and the Fatman       Wade Kelleher / Wallace Cogan 2 episodes

1995      High Sierra Search and Rescue    Marshal D.J. Stone           Episode: "Mozart & Stone"

1995      Kung Fu: The Legend Continues Gary Bennett     Episode: "The Sacred Chalice of I-Ching"

1995      Biography            Additional voices              Episode: "Andrew Jackson: A Man for the People"

1995      Walker, Texas Ranger     Larry Curtis         Episode: "The Guardians"

1996      High Tide                             2 episodes

1996      University Blues                                Television film

Awards

 

    Award of the London Critics Circle, nominee for Best Actor

    1966 Golden Laurel, nominee for New Faces

    2001 Golden Boot Award, winner