Yes, I know, Don Knotts died this weekend, too. Although I remember Don and laughed at his comedy, Mayberry was a bit before my time. A bigger impact on me was the series, "Kolchak: The Night Stalker".
McGavin, 83, died Saturday of natural causes at a Los Angeles-area hospital with his family at his side, said his son Bogart McGavin.
McGavin also had leading roles in TV's "Riverboat" and cult favorite "Kolchak: The Night Stalker." Among his memorable portrayals was Gen. George Patton in the 1979 TV biography "Ike."
He lacked the prominence in films he enjoyed in television, but he registered strongly in featured roles such as the young artist in Venice in "Summertime," David Lean's 1955 film with Katharine Hepburn and Rosanno Brazzi; Frank Sinatra's crafty drug supplier in "The Man with the Golden Arm" (1955); Jerry Lewis's parole officer in "The Delicate Delinquent" (1957); and the gambler in 1984's "The Natural." He also starred alongside Don Knotts, who died Friday night, in the 1976 family comedy "No Deposit, No Return."
Kolchak was my introduction to horror. I can still see the scene from an episode called "Zombie", where he is sewing together the zombie's lips after he filled the mouth full of salt...and the zombie's eyes pop open... good stuff.
The Night Stalker is also said to be the precursor to another of my favorite shows, "The X-Files".
Though network and cable television have grown bolder and gorier in the three-plus decades since The Night Stalker's heyday, the series continues to be hailed as a seminal influence by such modern entertainment masters as Chris Carter, creator of The X-Files. Carter has often acknowledged the influence of Kolchak on The X-Files, and paid homage to that legacy by casting Darren McGavin in a two-time guest role as retired FBI Special Agent Arthur Dales — the first agent assigned to what later became the bureau's X-Files office.