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 | |
| Children | 2 |
Krekor Ohanian (August 15, 1925 – January 26, 2017), known professionally asMike Connors, was an American actor. He was best known for playing private detective Joe Mannix in theCBS television seriesMannix from 1967 to 1975. This role earned him aGolden Globe Award in 1970, the first of six straight nominations, as well as four consecutiveEmmy nominations from 1970 to 1973. He starred in the short-lived seriesTightrope! (1959–1960) andToday's FBI (1981–1982). Connors' acting career spanned 56 years. In addition to his work on television, he appeared in numerous films, includingSudden Fear (1952),Good Neighbor Sam (1964),Situation Hopeless... But Not Serious (1965),Stagecoach (1966),Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die (1966), andToo Scared to Scream (1985), which he also produced.
Connors was born Krekor Ohanian Jr. (Armenian:Կրեկոր Օհանիան -Գրիքոր Օհանյան) on August 15, 1925, inFresno, California, toArmenian parents Krekor and Alice (née Surabian;Armenian:Ալիս Սուրաբյան Օհանյան) Ohanian. His father had escaped theArmenian genocide. They married in 1915 and had six children: Paul I (died in childhood), Paul II, Dorothy M., Arpesri A., Krekor, and Eugene.[1] His father was an attorney and represented many Armenians who had little money and could not speak English.[2] Connors spoke three languages:Armenian, English, and French.[3] Connors was a cousin of French-Armenian singerCharles Aznavour.[4][5][6]
Connors was an avid basketball player in high school, nicknamed "Touch" by his teammates. DuringWorld War II, he served as an enlisted man in theUnited States Army Air Forces.[7] After the war, he attended theUniversity of California at Los Angeles on both a basketball scholarship and theG.I. Bill, where he played under coachJohn Wooden. Connors went to law school, where he studied to become an attorney, taking after his father. He was a member of thePhi Delta Theta fraternity.[8]
After a basketball game, coachWilbur Johns introduced Connors to his friend, directorWilliam A. Wellman, who liked Connors' voice and expressive face while he was playing basketball, and encouraged him to consider acting.[2] He was considered for the role ofTarzan by casting director Ruth Burch, who found him an acting coach.[9]
After Connors became an actor, his agentHenry Willson thought the name "Ohanian" was too similar to the actorGeorge O'Hanlon and gave him the stage name "Touch Connors" based on his basketball nickname. Willson considered "Connors" to be a "good all-American name."[10] Connors later stated he hated the name "from day one" and considered not using his real name the only big regret of his career. After getting the starring role inTightrope!, Connors wanted to be credited as Ohanian, butColumbia Pictures told him that he had already done too much work as Connors, though he was allowed to change his first name to Mike.[11]
Connors's film career started in the early 1950s, when he made his acting debut in a supporting role oppositeJoan Crawford andJack Palance in the thrillerSudden Fear (1952). He had initially been rejected for an audition by producer Joseph Kaufman due to his lack of experience, but after sneaking intoRepublic Pictures and meeting directorDavid Miller, Connors was given a chance to read the script and was offered the part.[12]
Connors was cast in theJohn Wayne film,Island in the Sky, in which he played a crewman on one of the search-and-rescue planes. In 1956, he played anAmalekite herder inCecil B. DeMille'sThe Ten Commandments.[13]
Connors appeared in numerous television series, including the co-starring role in the 1955 episode "Tomas and the Widow" of theanthology seriesFrontier. He guest-starred on the earlysitcoms,Hey, Jeannie! andThe People's Choice and in twoRod Cameronsyndicatedcrime dramas,City Detective and the Western-themedState Trooper, and played the villain in the first episode filmed (but second one aired) ofABC's smash hitMaverick, oppositeJames Garner in 1957.[14]
Connors had roles in several of the earliest filmsRoger Corman directed:Five Guns West (1955),The Day the World Ended (1955),Swamp Women (1956), andThe Oklahoma Woman (1956).[15] Connors starred in and was the executive producer ofFlesh and the Spur (1956). He raised $117,000 for the film.[16]
In 1958, Connors appeared in the title role of the episode "Simon Pitt", the series finale of the NBC WesternJefferson Drum, starringJeff Richards as a frontier newspaper editor. He appeared in another NBC Western series,The Californians. That same year, Connors was cast as Miles Borden, a corrupt US Army lieutenant bitter over his $54 monthly pay, on NBC'sWagon Train in the episode "The Dora Gray Story" withLinda Darnell in the title role. About this time, he also appeared on an episode of NBC's Western seriesCimarron City.[14]
Other syndicated series in which he appeared wereThe Silent Service, based on true stories of thesubmarine section of theUnited States Navy;Sheriff of Cochise, a Western series;Whirlybirds, an aviation adventure series; andRescue 8, based on stories of theLos Angeles County Fire Department. An episode ofStudio 57 starring Connors and titled "Getaway Car" was proposed as a pilot for a series about the CHP to be calledMotorcycle Cop.[17]
Connors starred as an undercover police officer who infiltrated organized crime inTightrope! (1959–1960). Despite the show's popularity, it was canceled after only one season. Connors stated in an interview that the show's primary sponsor, J.B. Williams, refusedCBS presidentJames Aubrey's request to move it to a later time slot on a different day. The sponsor droppedTightrope! and underwrote another program on another network.[18] Connors also did not agree with the suggested change to add asidekick, to be played by Don Sullivan.[19] He thought the program would lose the suspense element, "Because the whole premise was this guy, all by himself, 'on a tightrope.' ... When he gets a sidekick, it loses the threat and the danger, and the whole premise is in the toilet."[20]
Later, he was cast in the episode "The Aerialist" of the anthology series,Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond. In 1963, he guest-starred as Jack Marson in the episode "Shadow of the Cougar" on the NBC modern Western series,Redigo, starringRichard Egan.[14] In 1964, Connors appeared in a pinch-hit role forRaymond Burr as attorney Joe Kelly in thePerry Mason episode, "The Case of the Bullied Bowler". Connors was invited to take on a lead role in the series on an ongoing basis, but the producers had actually wanted to pressure Burr into resigning his contract with the series.[20]
In 1964, Connors had a role in theJack Lemmon comedyGood Neighbor Sam, and was the leading man toSusan Hayward andBette Davis inWhere Love Has Gone. He co-starred withRobert Redford in one of his earliest film roles, the World War II black comedySituation Hopeless... But Not Serious (1965), in which Connors and Redford played American soldiers taken prisoner by a German villager played byAlec Guinness. Connors played the card sharp in the remake ofStagecoach (1966).[13]
Connors was strongly considered to playMatt Helm inThe Silencers (1966), but that role had eventually gone toDean Martin. However, his audition had impressed Columbia Pictures, so Connors was instead cast in the similarJames Bond spoof filmKiss the Girls and Make Them Die (1966). Connors himself performed the stuntwork of dangling from a rope ladder attached to a helicopter flying off theChrist the Redeemer statue inRio de Janeiro when the local stuntman refused to do it.[21]
Connors became best known for playing theprivate investigator Joe Mannix in the detective seriesMannix. The series ran for eight seasons from 1967 to 1975. During the first season of the series, Joe Mannix worked for Intertect, a large Los Angeles detective agency run by his superior Lew Wickersham (Joseph Campanella). From the second season onward, Mannix opened his own detective agency and is assisted by his secretary Peggy Fair (Gail Fisher).[13]
Mannix was originally produced byDesilu Productions (later absorbed byParamount Television). Then-presidentLucille Ball pushed for CBS to keep the show on the air by removing the high-tech computers and making Mannix an independent detective. This move enabled the show to become a long-running hit for the network.[22]Connors performed his own stunts on the series. During the filming of the pilot episode, he broke his wrist and dislocated his shoulder.[22]
Joe Mannix was an Armenian American, like Connors. He spokeArmenian in a number of episodes and often quoted Armenian proverbs.[22]
In 1970, Connors won theGolden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Series Drama. He was nominated for the Golden Globe Award six times from 1970 to 1975 and was nominated for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series four times from 1970 to 1973.[13]
When discussing the success of the series in an interview, Connors stated: "The show itself started a whole new era of detective shows, because this wasn't the usual cynical private eyeà laHumphrey Bogart. It was more a show about an all-round normal human being. The character of Joe Mannix could be taken advantage of by a pretty face, he could shed a tear on an emotional level, he was very close to his father and his family, so he was more a normal personality with normal behavior."[15]
Connors was able to work with his boss Lucille Ball on-screen during a cross-promotion episode of herHere's Lucy series in 1971. The episode, which opened Lucy's fourth season, is titled "Lucy and Mannix are Held Hostage". This was notable as the first episode shot at Universal Studios, after Ball ceased producing her program at Paramount Studios.[1]
Mannix remained a hit show through its final season.[23] The show was taken off the air due to a dispute between CBS and Paramount.[15] Paramount had sold the rights to airMannix reruns to rival network ABC without informing CBS. When CBS discovered the deal, the executives quickly decided to cancelMannix to avoid losing viewership for new episodes to the reruns.[24]
He later reprised the role of Joe Mannix in a 1997 episode ofDiagnosis: Murder and in the 2003 comedy filmNobody Knows Anything![25]
He narratedJ. Michael Hagopian's 1975 documentary filmThe Forgotten Genocide, one of the first full-length features on theArmenian genocide. The documentary was nominated for twoEmmys.[26] In 1995, Connors narrated another Armenian documentary by Hagopian,Ararat Beckons.[1]
In 1976, Connors played Karl Ohanian in the television filmThe Killer Who Wouldn't Die. Producers and writersIvan Goff andBen Roberts, who were also producers forMannix, wanted the character to have Connors' real last name.[27] The film was intended to be the pilot for a new ABC series titledOhanian, about an Armenian-American former homicide detective who is now a charter-boat skipper.[28] However, the series was not picked up.[27]
Connors had roles in the thriller filmsAvalanche Express (1979) andNightkill (1980).[15][29] He starred as a bureau veteran who mentors a team of agents inToday's FBI (1981–1982). The series only lasted one season.[25] Connors both starred in and produced the independent horror filmToo Scared to Scream (1985).[30]
He played Colonel Harrison "Hack" Peters in the 1988 miniseriesWar and Remembrance. Connors hosted the 1989 seriesCrimes of the Century. He voiced the character Chipacles in theDisney animated seriesHercules from 1998 to 1999.[13]
Connors' final appearance was in a 2007Two and a Half Men episode, as a love interest of Evelyn Harper's (Holland Taylor).[25]
Connors married Mary Lou Willey on September 10, 1949, when they were bothUCLA students.[25] They had two children, a son, Matthew Gunnar Ohanian, and a daughter, Dana Lee Connors. Matthew was diagnosed withschizophrenia at age 15. Matthew predeceased his father, dying of heart failure in 2007.[31] Through his daughter Dana, he had one granddaughter.[25]
After his son's diagnosis, Connors became active in charitable organizations for patients diagnosed with mental disorders. He was a spokesperson for theNational Alliance on Mental Illness. In 1998, theUC Irvine College of Medicine's Brain Imaging Center Committee awarded Connors the Silver Ribbon Award for his contributions.[31]
Connors made a public service announcement for the Armenian Eye Care Project.[32]
Connors was aRepublican.[33] He endorsedRonald Reagan for President in1980 and1984 and endorsedGeorge Deukmejian forGovernor of California in1982 and1986.[30]
Connors died inTarzana, California, at the age of 91 on January 26, 2017, a week after being diagnosed withleukemia.[1][34]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Sudden Fear | Junior Kearney | |
| 1953 | The 49th Man | Lt. Magrew | |
| 1953 | Sky Commando | Lt. Hobson Lee | |
| 1953 | Island in the Sky | Gainer | |
| 1954 | Day of Triumph | Andrew | |
| 1955 | Five Guns West | Hale Clinton | |
| 1955 | The Twinkle in God's Eye | Lou | |
| 1955 | Day the World Ended | Tony Lamont | |
| 1956 | Jaguar | Marty Lang | |
| 1956 | Swamp Women | Bob Matthews | |
| 1956 | The Oklahoma Woman | Tom Blake | |
| 1956 | Flesh and the Spur | Stacy Doggett | Also executive producer |
| 1956 | The Ten Commandments | Amalekite Herder | as Touch Connors |
| 1956 | Shake, Rattle & Rock! | Garry Nelson | |
| 1957 | Voodoo Woman | Ted Bronson | |
| 1958 | Suicide Battalion | Major Matt McCormack | |
| 1958 | Live Fast, Die Young | Rick | |
| 1960 | The Dalton That Got Away | Russ Dalton | |
| 1964 | Panic Button | Frank Pagano | |
| 1964 | Good Neighbor Sam | Howard Ebbets | |
| 1964 | Where Love Has Gone | Major Luke Miller | |
| 1965 | Harlow | Jack Harrison | |
| 1965 | Situation Hopeless... But Not Serious | Sgt. Lucky Finder | |
| 1966 | Stagecoach | Hatfield | |
| 1966 | Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die | Kelly | |
| 1979 | Avalanche Express | Haller | |
| 1980 | Nightkill | Wendell Atwell | |
| 1985 | Too Scared to Scream | Lt. Alex Dinardo | Also producer |
| 1989 | Fist Fighter | Billy Vance | |
| 1993 | Public Enemy #2 | Himself | |
| 1994 | William Saroyan: The Man, the Writer | Narrator | Voice |
| 1994 | Downtown Heat | Steve | |
| 1997 | James Dean: Race with Destiny | Jack Warner | |
| 1998 | Gideon | Harland Greer | |
| 2000 | The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave | Grandpa Osborne | Uncredited |
| 2003 | Nobody Knows Anything! | Joe Mannix |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | The Ford Television Theatre | Christopher Ames | Episode: "Yours for a Dream" |
| 1954 | Mr. & Mrs. North | Mark Willard | Episode: "Murder for Sale" |
| 1955 | City Detective | Massey | Episode: "Baby in the Basket" |
| 1955 | The Lineup | Episode: "The Messenger Case" | |
| 1955 | Frontier | Tomas | Episode: "Tomas and the Widow" |
| 1955 | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars | Mel Dunlap / Lou Renaldi | 2 episodes |
| 1955 | The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp | Pat Smith | Episode: "The Big Baby Contest" |
| 1956 | Have Camera Will Travel | Larry | Television film |
| 1956 | Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal | Episode: "The Diana Story" | |
| 1956 | The Millionaire | Victor Volante | Episode: "The Victor Volante Story" |
| 1956 | The Loretta Young Show | Al Kiner | Episode: "Now a Brief Word" |
| 1956 | The Adventures of Jim Bowie | Rafe Bradford | Episode: "Broomstick Wedding" |
| 1956 | Gunsmoke | Bostick | Episode: "The Mistake" (credited as Touch Connors) |
| 1956 | The People's Choice | Bob Staples | Episode: "Sock and the Law" |
| 1956–1959 | State Trooper | Jim Madison / Jim Herndon | 2 episodes |
| 1957 | Hey, Jeannie! | Lash Connor | Episode: "Jeannie, the Westerner" |
| 1957 | Sheriff of Cochise | Jess Stiles | Episode: "Husband and Wife" |
| 1957 | Code 3 | Bill Dalhart | Episode: "The Water Skier" |
| 1957 | Lux Video Theatre | Glen Kramer | Episode: "The Latch Key" |
| 1957 | The Silent Service | Don Melhop | Episode: "The Ordeal of S-38" |
| 1957 | Those Whiting Girls | Hotel Guest | Episode: "The Trio" |
| 1957 | M Squad | Pete Wikowlski | Episode: "Pete Loves Mary" |
| 1957 | Have Gun – Will Travel | Johnny Dart | Episode: "The Bride" |
| 1957 | The Gale Storm Show | Jerry Moss | Episode: "Mardi Gras" |
| 1957 | Maverick | Sheriff Barney Fillmore / Ralph Jordan | 2 episodes |
| 1957 | The Walter Winchell File | Dave Hopper | Episode: "The Steep Hill" |
| 1957–1959 | Whirlybirds | Tom Grimaldi / Wally Otis | 2 episodes |
| 1958 | Wagon Train | Lt. Miles Borden | Episode: "The Dora Gray Story" |
| 1958 | Telephone Time | Cy Yedor | Episode: "The Checkered Flag" |
| 1958 | Official Detective | Martin Whiting[35] | Episode: "The Cover-Up" |
| 1958 | Studio 57 | Patrolman Jeff Saunders / Hap Gordon | 2 episodes |
| 1958 | Cheyenne | Roy Simmons | Episode: "Dead to Rights" |
| 1958 | Target | Episode: "Death Makes a Phone Call" | |
| 1958 | The Texan | Larry Enright | Episode: "The Edge of the Cliff" |
| 1958 | Cimarron City | Bill Thatcher | Episode: "Hired Hand" |
| 1958 | Rescue 8 | Joe Starky | Episode: "Find That Bomb!" |
| 1958 | Jefferson Drum | Simon Pitt | Episode: "Simon Pitt" |
| 1958 | Lawman | Hal Daniels | Episode: "Lady in Question" |
| 1959 | The Rough Riders | Randall Garrett | Episode: "Wilderness Trace" |
| 1959 | Bronco | Hurd Elliott | Episode: "School for Cowards" |
| 1959 | Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond | Mario Patruzzio | Episode: "The Aerialist" |
| 1959 | The Californians | Charles Cora | Episode: "The Bell Tolls" |
| 1959 | Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer | Marty / Lou Torrey | 2 episodes |
| 1959–1960 | Tightrope! | Nick Stone (undercover agent)[36] | 37 episodes |
| 1962 | The Untouchables | Eddie O'Gara | Episode: "The Eddie O'Gara Story" |
| 1962 | The Expendables | Mike | Television film |
| 1963 | Redigo | Jack Marston | Episode: "Shadow of the Cougar" |
| 1964 | Perry Mason | Joe Kelly | Episode: "The Case of the Bullied Bowler" |
| 1967–1975 | Mannix | Joe Mannix | 194 episodes Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama(1970) Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama(1971–1975) Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series(1970–1973) |
| 1968–1970 | The Red Skelton Show | Plastic Surgeon / Airline Pilot / Henry Pringle / Himself / Federal Witness | 3 episodes |
| 1971 | Here's Lucy | Joe Mannix | Episode: "Lucy and Mannix Are Held Hostage" |
| 1973 | Beg, Borrow, or Steal | Vic Cummings | Television film |
| 1973 | Bob Hope Special | Joe Mannix | Private Eyes spoof skit with Hope as "Cannon" |
| 1976 | The Killer Who Wouldn't Die | Karl Ohanian | Television film |
| 1976 | Charo | Gen. George Washington | Television film |
| 1976 | Revenge For A Rape | Travis Green | Television film |
| 1977 | Police Story | Curtis 'Manny' Mandell | Episode: "Stigma" |
| 1978 | Long Journey Back | Vic Casella | Television film |
| 1979 | The Death of Ocean View Park | Sam Jackson | Television film |
| 1979 | High Midnight | Capt. Lou Mikalich | Television film |
| 1980 | Casino | Nick | Television film |
| 1981–1982 | The Love Boat | Mark Hayward / Sidney Sloan | 4 episodes |
| 1981–1982 | Today's FBI | Ben Slater | 18 episodes |
| 1984 | Earthlings | Captain Jim Adams | Television film, unsold pilot[37] |
| 1984 | Glitter | Episode: "Pilot" | |
| 1984 | The Fall Guy | Himself | Episode: "Private Eyes" |
| 1988–1989 | War and Remembrance | Col. Harrison 'Hack' Peters | 4 episodes |
| 1989 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Robert Logan | Episode: "Driving Under the Influence" |
| 1989–1995 | Murder, She Wrote | Boyce Brown / Walter Murray | 3 episodes |
| 1993 | Armen and Bullik | Joe 'Uncle Do Do' Armen | Television film |
| 1993 | The Commish | James Hayden | Episode: "Scali, P.I." |
| 1993 | Hart to Hart Returns | Bill McDowell | Television film |
| 1994 | Burke's Law | Jack Duncan | Episode: "Who Killed the Anchorman?" |
| 1997 | Diagnosis: Murder | Joe Mannix | Episode: "Hard-Boiled Murder" |
| 1998 | Walker, Texas Ranger | Judge Arthur McSpadden | Episode: "Code of the West" |
| 1998–1999 | Hercules | Chipacles (voice) | 10 episodes |
| 2007 | Two and a Half Men | Hugo | Episode: "Prostitutes and Gelato" |
| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Actor – Television Series Drama | Mannix | Won |
| 1970 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series | Mannix | Nominated |
| 1971 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Actor – Television Series Drama | Mannix | Nominated |
| 1971 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series | Mannix | Nominated |
| 1972 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Actor – Television Series Drama | Mannix | Nominated |
| 1972 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series | Mannix | Nominated |
| 1973 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Actor – Television Series Drama | Mannix | Nominated |
| 1973 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series | Mannix | Nominated |
| 1974 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Actor – Television Series Drama | Mannix | Nominated |
| 1975 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Actor – Television Series Drama | Mannix | Nominated |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
