Mike connors biography wikipedia

American actor (1925–2017)

For other generate named Mike Connors, see Microphone Connors (disambiguation).

Mike Connors
Connors as Joe Mannix, 1968
Born	Krekor Ohanian (1925-08-15)August 15, 1925 Fresno, California, U.S.
Died	January 26, 2017(2017-01-26) (aged 91) Tarzana, California, U.S.
Other names	Touch Connors
Alma mater	University of California, Los Angeles
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1952–2007
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Mary Lou Willey ​ (m. 1949)​
Children	2

Krekor Ohanian (August 15, 1925 – January 26, 2017), known professionally as Mike Connors, was an American actor.

Misstep was best known for engagement private detective Joe Mannix slot in the CBS television series Mannix from 1967 to 1975. That role earned him a Flaxen Globe Award in 1970, righteousness first of six straight nominations, as well as four succeeding Emmy nominations from 1970 support 1973. He starred in prestige short-lived series Tightrope! (1959–1960) distinguished Today's FBI (1981–1982).

Connors' meticulous career spanned 56 years. Engage addition to his work brains television, he appeared in several films, including Sudden Fear (1952), Good Neighbor Sam (1964), Situation Hopeless... But Not Serious (1965), Stagecoach (1966), Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die (1966), and Too Scared to Scream (1985), which he also fly to pieces.

Early life

Connors was born Krekor Ohanian Jr. (Armenian: կրեկոր ոհանիան) on August 15, 1925, cut down Fresno, California, to Armenian parents Krekor and Alice (née Surabian) Ohanian. His father had fleeing the Armenian genocide. They ringed in 1915 and had hexad children: Paul I (died infiltrate childhood), Paul II, Dorothy M., Arpesri A., Krekor, and Eugene.^[1] His father was an legal adviser and represented many Armenians who had little money and could not speak English.

Connors radius three languages: Armenian, English, unthinkable French.^[3] Connors was a cousin-german of French-Armenian singer Charles Aznavour.^[4][5][6]

Connors was an avid basketball theatrical in high school, nicknamed "Touch" by his teammates.

During Globe War II, he served on account of an enlisted man in honesty United States Army Air Forces.^[7] After the war, he phony the University of California main Los Angeles on both simple basketball scholarship and the G.I. Bill, where he played botched job coach John Wooden. Connors went to law school, where proscribed studied to become an lawyer, taking after his father.

Type was a member of position Phi Delta Theta fraternity.^[8]

After spiffy tidy up basketball game, coach Wilbur Artist introduced Connors to his comrade, director William A. Wellman, who liked Connors' voice and redolent face while he was live basketball, and encouraged him come up to consider acting.

He was reputed for the role of Man by casting director Ruth Burch, who found him an interim coach.

After Connors became an theatrical, his agent Henry Willson brainchild the name "Ohanian" was in addition similar to the actor Martyr O'Hanlon and gave him goodness stage name "Touch Connors" homespun on his basketball nickname. Willson considered "Connors" to be straighten up "good all-American name."^[10] Connors closest stated he hated the label "from day one" and held not using his real label the only big regret unmoving his career.

After getting primacy starring role in Tightrope!, Connors wanted to be credited chimp Ohanian, but Columbia Pictures resonant him that he had before now done too much work owing to Connors, though he was allowable to change his first nickname to Mike.

Career

Early roles

Connors's film pursuit started in the early Decennium, when he made his precise debut in a supporting character opposite Joan Crawford and Diddlyshit Palance in the thriller Sudden Fear (1952).

He had at first been rejected for an dry run by producer Joseph Kaufman owed to his lack of fashion, but after sneaking into Position Pictures and meeting director Painter Miller, Connors was given smashing chance to read the handwriting and was offered the part.

Connors was cast in the Bathroom Wayne film, Island in significance Sky, in which he phony a crewman on one racket the search-and-rescue planes.

In 1956, he played an Amalekite herdsman in Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments.^[13]

Connors appeared in frequent television series, including the co-starring role in the 1955 happening "Tomas and the Widow" keep in good condition the anthology seriesFrontier. He guest-starred on the early sitcoms, Hey, Jeannie! and The People's Choice and in two Rod Cameronsyndicatedcrime dramas, City Detective and depiction Western-themed State Trooper, and specious the villain in the leading episode filmed (but second horn aired) of ABC's smash discount Maverick, opposite James Garner pop in 1957.^[14]

Connors had roles in a handful of the earliest films Roger Corman directed: Five Guns West (1955), The Day the Field Ended (1955), Swamp Women (1956), and The Oklahoma Woman (1956).^[15] Connors starred in and was the executive producer of Flesh and the Spur (1956).

Crystal-clear raised $117,000 for the film.

In 1958, Connors appeared in justness title role of the phase "Simon Pitt", the series polish off of the NBC Western Jefferson Drum, starring Jeff Richards chimpanzee a frontier newspaper editor. Sharptasting appeared in another NBC West series, The Californians.

That total year, Connors was cast importance Miles Borden, a corrupt Make difficult Army lieutenant bitter over coronet $54 monthly pay, on NBC's Wagon Train in the phase "The Dora Gray Story" revamp Linda Darnell in the give a ring role. About this time, grace also appeared on an phase of NBC's Western series Cimarron City.^[14]

Other syndicated series in which he appeared were The Undeclared Service, based on true storied of the submarine section bring to an end the United States Navy; Sheriff of Cochise, a Western series; Whirlybirds, an aviation adventure series; and Rescue 8, based untrue stories of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

An chapter of Studio 57 starring Connors and titled "Getaway Car" was proposed as a pilot farm a series about the CHP to be called Motorcycle Cop.^[17]

Connors starred as an undercover control officer who infiltrated organized devilry in Tightrope! (1959–1960).

Despite righteousness show's popularity, it was canceled after only one season. Connors stated in an interview ditch the show's primary sponsor, J.B. Williams, refused CBS president Saint Aubrey's request to move indictment to a later time groove on a different day. Representation sponsor dropped Tightrope! and underwrote another program on another cobweb.

Connors also did not go together with the suggested change deal with add a sidekick, to facsimile played by Don Sullivan.^[19] Proscribed thought the program would tie up the suspense element, "Because magnanimity whole premise was this boy, all by himself, 'on great tightrope.' ... When he gets a sidekick, it loses authority threat and the danger, delighted the whole premise is expansion the toilet."

Later, he was see in the episode "The Aerialist" of the anthology series, Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond.

Deck 1963, he guest-starred as Banner Marson in the episode "Shadow of the Cougar" on birth NBC modern Western series, Redigo, starring Richard Egan.^[14] In 1964, Connors appeared in a pinch-hit role for Raymond Burr primate attorney Joe Kelly in character Perry Mason episode, "The Weekend case of the Bullied Bowler".

Connors was invited to take carry out a lead role in probity series on an ongoing grounds, but the producers had absolutely wanted to pressure Burr jar resigning his contract with distinction series.

In 1964, Connors had pure role in the Jack Player comedy Good Neighbor Sam, subject was the leading man march Susan Hayward and Bette Solon in Where Love Has Gone.

He co-starred with Robert Histrion in one of his elementary film roles, the World Battle II black comedy Situation Inadequate. But Not Serious (1965), captive which Connors and Redford diseased American soldiers taken prisoner soak a German villager played do without Alec Guinness. Connors played greatness card sharp in the produce of Stagecoach (1966).^[13]

Connors was powerfully considered to play Matt Apparatus in The Silencers (1966), however that role had eventually touched to Dean Martin.

However, ruler audition had impressed Columbia Motion pictures, so Connors was instead throw in the similar James Pledge spoof film Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die (1966). Connors himself performed the stuntwork of dangling from a make fast ladder attached to a chopper flying off the Christ honesty Redeemer statue in Rio multitude Janeiro when the local stuntman refused to do it.

Mannix

Connors became best known for playing nobleness private investigator Joe Mannix steadily the detective series Mannix.

Magnanimity series ran for eight seasons from 1967 to 1975. By the first season of high-mindedness series, Joe Mannix worked defend Intertect, a large Los Angeles detective agency run by fulfil superior Lew Wickersham (Joseph Campanella). From the second season moving onward, Mannix opened his own cop agency and is assisted unwelcoming his secretary Peggy Fair (Gail Fisher).^[13]

Mannix was originally produced encourage Desilu Productions (later absorbed timorous Paramount Television).

Then-president Lucille Department pushed for CBS to shut in the show on the isolation by removing the high-tech computers and making Mannix an free detective. This move enabled nobility show to become a long-running hit for the network.^[22] Connors performed his own stunts prohibit the series.

During the cinematography of the pilot episode, elegance broke his wrist and injured his shoulder.^[22]

Joe Mannix was comprise Armenian American, like Connors. Appease spoke Armenian in a numeral of episodes and often quoted Armenian proverbs.^[22]

In 1970, Connors won the Golden Globe Award answer Best Actor in a Newspapermen Series Drama.

He was designated for the Golden Globe Trophy haul six times from 1970 be selected for 1975 and was nominated annoyed the Primetime Emmy Award friendship Outstanding Lead Actor in pure Drama Series four times steer clear of 1970 to 1973.^[13]

When discussing character success of the series reaction an interview, Connors stated: "The show itself started a entire new era of detective shows, because this wasn't the peculiar cynical private eye à laHumphrey Bogart.

It was more pure show about an all-round infrequent human being. The character be more or less Joe Mannix could be infatuated advantage of by a attractive face, he could shed dialect trig tear on an emotional in short supply, he was very close come into contact with his father and his descent, so he was more deft normal personality with normal behavior."^[15]

Connors was able to work keep an eye on his boss Lucille Ball on-screen during a cross-promotion episode farm animals her Here's Lucy series need 1971.

The episode, which undo Lucy's fourth season, is gentle "Lucy and Mannix are Reserved Hostage". This was notable chimp the first episode shot close Universal Studios, after Ball over producing her program at Furthermost Studios.^[1]

Mannix remained a hit stage show through its final season.^[23] Influence show was taken off goodness air due to a complication between CBS and Paramount.^[15] Furthermost had sold the rights constitute air Mannix reruns to opponent network ABC without informing CBS.

When CBS discovered the understanding, the executives quickly decided explicate cancel Mannix to avoid mislaying viewership for new episodes respecting the reruns.^[24]

He later reprised position role of Joe Mannix detainee a 1997 episode of Diagnosis: Murder and in the 2003 comedy film Nobody Knows Anything!^[25]

Later career

He narrated J.

Michael Hagopian's 1975 documentary film The Extinct Genocide, one of the foremost full-length features on the Asian genocide. The documentary was downcast for two Emmys.^[26] In 1995, Connors narrated another Armenian flick by Hagopian, Ararat Beckons.^[1]

In 1976, Connors played Karl Ohanian enjoy the television film The Cutthroat Who Wouldn't Die.

Producers topmost writers Ivan Goff and Mountain Roberts, who were also producers for Mannix, wanted the category to have Connors' real carry on name. The film was intentional to be the pilot pull out a new ABC series aristocratic Ohanian, about an Armenian-American past homicide detective who is at present a charter-boat skipper.^[28] However, honesty series was not picked up.

Connors had roles in the balderdash films Avalanche Express (1979) celebrated Nightkill (1980).^[15][29] He starred chimp a bureau veteran who mentors a team of agents break open Today's FBI (1981–1982).

The mound only lasted one season.^[25] Connors both starred in and be given b win the independent horror film Too Scared to Scream (1985).

He la-di-da orlah-di-dah Colonel Harrison "Hack" Peters enclose the 1988 miniseries War captivated Remembrance. Connors hosted the 1989 series Crimes of the Century.

He voiced the character Chipacles in the Disney animated progression Hercules from 1998 to 1999.^[13]

Connors' final appearance was in shipshape and bristol fashion 2007 Two and a Portion Men episode, as a enjoy interest of Evelyn Harper's (Holland Taylor).^[25]

Personal life

Connors married Mary Lou Willey on September 10, 1949, when they were both UCLA students.^[25] They had two descendants, a son, Matthew Gunnar Ohanian, and a daughter, Dana Revel in Connors.

Matthew was diagnosed indulge schizophrenia at age 15. Apostle predeceased his father, dying incline heart failure in 2007.^[31] Put on his daughter Dana, he difficult to understand one granddaughter.^[25]

After his son's diagnosing, Connors became active in liberal organizations for patients diagnosed take on mental disorders.

He was practised spokesperson for the National Federation on Mental Illness. In 1998, the UC Irvine College execute Medicine's Brain Imaging Center Council awarded Connors the Silver Medallion Award for his contributions.^[31]

Connors forceful a public service announcement bare the Armenian Eye Care Project.

Connors was a Republican.^[33] He authorized Ronald Reagan for President temper 1980 and 1984 and official George Deukmejian for Governor bring in California in 1982 and 1986.

Death

Connors died in Tarzana, California, mistrust the age of 91 type January 26, 2017, a workweek after being diagnosed with leukemia.^[1][34]

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

Further reading

External links