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LOS ANGELES — Michael Cole, who starred as one-third of “The Mod Squad,” has died. He was 84.
The actor performed Pete Cochran within the hit ABC crime present that aired from 1968 to ‘73. Cole died Tuesday, his Atlanta-based expertise agent Christy Clark confirmed to The Occasions.
On the tail of a decade of civil unrest because of the Vietnam Battle and the midcentury civil rights motion, “The Mod Squad” made combating crime cool to the youthful era’s counterculture.
With “one black, one white, one blonde,” because the present’s tagline, “the rabble on the improper facet of the regulation was now the regulation,” stated tv critic Lorraine Ali in 2018. That very same 12 months, Cole authored a memoir that referenced his undercover-cop position titled “I Performed the White Man.”
Cole’s nephew, who was named after him, introduced his uncle’s loss of life Monday in a put up on Fb. “He was my inspiration to the craft of appearing and helped information me my entire profession. He taught me of his ardour as an artist … as a narrative teller … as an actor. However first, he was my Uncle … who I liked deeply.”
Cole spoke of the position in a 1999 interview with The Occasions.
“I used to be like a insurgent with a trigger,” he stated.
Cole’s Pete Cochran, Peggy Lipton’s Julie Barnes and Linc Hayes, performed by Clarence Williams III, have been all younger individuals in bother with the regulation. Police Capt. Adam Greer (Tige Andrews) labored with them so they might keep away from jail time. The trio blended into the crime scenes — and among the many suspects — they investigated.
Cole advised The Occasions that he saved in contact with co-stars Lipton and Williams, who died in 2019 and 2021, respectively. He additionally stated he was a fan of the 1979 TV-movie revival “The Return of the Mod Squad,” which he stated captured “the bonding and caring” that was on the coronary heart of the unique.
Considered one of his different notable roles was as Harlan Barrett, a 1991 heartthrob on daytime drama “Normal Hospital” who was a recurring character for a number of months. He additionally appeared in TV exhibits “ER,” “The Love Boat” and “Police Story,” in addition to the 1990 Stephen King miniseries “It.”
Born in blue-collar Madison, Wis., in 1940, Cole moved to Los Angeles as a younger, ravenous actor in 1963, he stated in a 2018 podcast interview. There, he joined an appearing workshop with coach Estelle Harmon and finally bought his massive break with “The Mod Squad,” he stated, by simply being himself. After divorcing twice, he met his present spouse in 1989, who helped him get sober — one among his best accomplishments, he stated.
Cole is survived by his spouse, Shelley Funes, daughter Jennifer and sisters Deborah and Colleen, his nephew wrote. “We’re eternally sure as household,” the put up says. “I like you Uncle Mike.”
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