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Dana Elcar
Elcar as Peter Thornton onMacGyver
Born	Ibsen Dana Elcar (1927-10-10)October 10, 1927 Ferndale, Michigan, U.S.
Died	June 6, 2005(2005-06-06) (aged 77) Ventura, California, U.S.
Education	University of Michigan
Years active	1952–2002
Spouses	Katherine Frances Mead ​ ​ (m. 1948⁠–⁠1950)​ Peggy Romano ​ (m. 1954⁠–⁠1970)​ Marianne Torrance ​ ​ (m. 1978⁠–⁠1995)​
Partner	Thelma Garcia
Children	4

Ibsen Dana Elcar (October 10, 1927 – June 6, 2005) was an Americantelevision andfilmcharacter actor. He appeared in about 40films as well as in the 1960s television seriesDark Shadows as Sheriff George Patterson and the 1980s and 1990s television seriesMacGyver as Peter Thornton, MacGyver's immediate supervisor at the Phoenix Foundation. Elcar had appeared in thepilot episode ofMacGyver as Andy Colson^[1] before assuming the role of Thornton.

Elcar was born inFerndale, Michigan, the son of Hedwig (née Anderberg) and James Aage Elcar, a carpenter and butcher.^[1] He was an alumnus of theUniversity of Michigan where he was a member of theAlpha Tau Omega fraternity. At age 18, Elcar enlisted and served a tour of duty in theUnited States Navy at the end ofWorld War II.^[2] He moved to New York in the 1950s to become a professionalthespian.^[2] He was a student of legendary acting coachSanford Meisner. He brought this education to bear when in 1986, with fellowcharacter actorWilliam Lucking, he formed theSanta Paula Theater Center. Elcar sat asartistic director for six years.^{[citation needed]}

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In 1962, he created the role of the hitman Ben in the U.S. premiere of Harold Pinter'sThe Dumb Waiter at the Cherry Lane Theater in Greenwich Village, New York City. That same year he was cast on the long runningCBSdaytime dramaThe Guiding Light as Andrew Murray, the District Attorney of Los Angeles County. Later in 1962 and 1963, due to his stint onThe Guiding Light, he was cast in three episodes of theNBC sitcomCar 54, Where Are You?, and two segments of theABC crime dramaNaked City, both set inNew York City. In 1966-67, Elcar played Sheriff George Patterson on the gothic soap operaDark Shadows^[3] He played Inspector Shiller, the supervisor, in the crime drama,Baretta, starringRobert Blake. As a character actor, Elcar guest-starred in many television shows, includingGunsmoke;Mannix;Ironside;Columbo;Cannon;Benson;Newhart;The Fall Guy;Scarecrow and Mrs. King;Hill Street Blues;The A-Team;Trapper John, M.D.;Matlock;Law and Order; andER.

Elcar guest starred onGet Smart as KAOS Agent Kruger in the two-part 1969 episode of entitled "And Baby Makes Four".^{[citation needed]}. In 1970, he appeared onCBS'sMission: Impossible andStorefront Lawyers. In 1971, he was a guest star onIronside. He appeared onThe Waltons andKung Fu in 1973. Elcar had a regular role as Colonel Lard in the 1976–78 television military drama,Baa Baa Black Sheep, starringRobert Conrad, and he also directed four episodes of the series. He appeared in TV disaster movies such asHeatwave! (1974) andCrisis in Mid-Air (1979). He also appeared in The Sting (1973).

In 1979, Elcar played judges inCentennial andB. J. and the Bear. In 1980, he was cast in the role of "Chief" (previously played in the TV series byEdward Platt, who died in 1974) in theGet Smart feature film entitledThe Nude Bomb (a.k.a.The Return of Maxwell Smart). He also co-starred in two episodes ofThe A-Team in 1984 and 1985. In 1987, he was cast onMatlock.

Elcar and his stunt/photography doubleDon S. Davis were often mistaken for each other. Elcar appeared in the hit seriesKnight Rider in the 1983 episode "Merchants of Death"; as a corrupt sheriff inThe Incredible Hulk episode "Escape from Los Santos" (1978), in which Banner is headed toPhoenix;

In 1991, Elcar began to developglaucoma. This condition was written into theMacGyver plot-line, beginning with the sixth season, seventeenth episode "Blind Faith" and continuing through the remainder of that season and the entire seventh season, with Elcar's character developing the disease. The sixth-season finale, "Hindsight", was aclip show using Pete Thornton's upcoming eye surgery as aframing device. AfterMacGyver, Elcar made a guest appearance in "Computer Virus" S3;E19, a 1993 episode ofLaw & Order, in which he played a man who blamed his diabetes-caused blindness on his former physician, and whose son murdered other patients as revenge.^[4]

Elcar also played a blind character on episodes ofThe Magic School Bus andER. Once blind, Elcar accepted the challenge of playing Vladimir inWaiting for Godot on stage, complete with white cane. This was his theatricalswan song, and he retired in 2002 after hisER performance.^{[citation needed]}

Elcar married Katherine Frances Mead in 1948 and divorced her in 1950.^[5] He married Peggy Romano in 1954 and divorced her in 1970.^[6] Elcar had four children: Marin Elcar, Nora Elcar Verdon, Dane Elcar, and Chandra Elcar. His long-time partner was Thelma Garcia.^[1]

On June 6, 2005, Elcar died at theCommunity Memorial Hospital inVentura, California frompneumonia at age 77.^[1][7][8]

• Dana Elcar atIMDb
• Dana Elcar at theInternet Broadway Database
• Dana Elcar at theInternet Off-Broadway Database (archived)
• Dana ElcarArchived 2018-02-01 at theWayback Machine atTV.comArchived 2019-04-12 at theWayback Machine
• In Memory of Dana Elcar

• 1927 births
• 2005 deaths
• 20th-century American male actors
• American actors with disabilities
• American male film actors
• American male stage actors
• American male television actors
• American blind people
• Blind actors
• Deaths from pneumonia in California
• Male actors from Michigan
• People from Ferndale, Michigan
• People from Santa Paula, California
• University of Michigan alumni
• Male actors from Ventura County, California

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