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Mike Connors, Long-Running TV Sleuth in ‘Mannix,’ Dies at 91 Mike Connors, Long-Running TV Sleuth in ‘Mannix,’ Dies at 91
(about 2 hours later)
Mike Connors, who broke free of years of supporting roles when he found stardom in the late 1960s as a maverick private investigator in “Mannix,” a CBS series that went on to enjoy an eight-season run, died on Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 91.Mike Connors, who broke free of years of supporting roles when he found stardom in the late 1960s as a maverick private investigator in “Mannix,” a CBS series that went on to enjoy an eight-season run, died on Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 91.
His son-in-law Mike Condon said the death, at a hospital, was caused by complications of leukemia, which had been diagnosed a week earlier, The Associated Press reported.His son-in-law Mike Condon said the death, at a hospital, was caused by complications of leukemia, which had been diagnosed a week earlier, The Associated Press reported.
In the series, which had its premiere in 1967, Mr. Connors played Joe Mannix, a Korean War veteran of, like Mr. Connors, Armenian descent who sleuthed his way around Los Angeles with flashy cars and a penchant for citing Armenian proverbs. In the series, which had its premiere in 1967, Mr. Connors played the darkly handsome Joe Mannix, a Korean War veteran of, like Mr. Connors, Armenian descent who sleuthed his way around Los Angeles with flashy cars and a penchant for citing Armenian proverbs.
Unlike many a smooth TV private eye, Mannix took his lumps. The Washington Post, tabulating the wear and tear the character withstood over eight seasons, found that he had endured 17 gunshot wounds and 55 beatings that left him unconscious.Unlike many a smooth TV private eye, Mannix took his lumps. The Washington Post, tabulating the wear and tear the character withstood over eight seasons, found that he had endured 17 gunshot wounds and 55 beatings that left him unconscious.
The violence drew criticism in some quarters, but “Mannix” became the most popular crime series on television in an era punctuated by comedies like “All in the Family” and “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In.” Mr. Connors became one of the highest-paid television actors of the 1970s, and the role brought him four Emmy Award nominations and a Golden Globe Award. The violence drew criticism in some quarters, but “Mannix” became the most popular crime series on television in an era punctuated by comedies like “All in the Family” and “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In.” For several years it shared CBS’s Saturday night lineup with “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” whose own star died on Wednesday.
“Mannix” was also notable for providing one of the first leading roles on a regular series to an African-American performer: Gail Fisher joined the show in its second season as Mannix’s secretary, frequent damsel in distress and occasional potential love interest. She died in 2000. “Mannix” made Mr. Connors one of the highest-paid television actors of the 1970s; by the end of its run he was earning $40,000 an episode (almost $180,000 in today’s dollars). The the role brought him four Emmy Award nominations and a Golden Globe Award.
Mr. Connors was born Krekor Ohanian on Aug. 15, 1925, in Fresno, Calif. He served in the Air Force during World War II, then enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he played basketball (and earned the nickname “Touch” on the court). His plans to study law were interrupted when the director William A. Wellman saw him on the basketball court and encouraged him to try acting. One of his first film roles was in Wellman’s 1953 adventure film “Island in the Sky.” “Mannix” was also notable as one of the first regular series to provide a leading role to an African-American: Gail Fisher joined the show in its second season as Mannix’s secretary, frequent damsel in distress and occasional potential love interest. She died at 65 in 2000.
Under the name Touch Connors, he also appeared in several forgettable films (“Swamp Women,” “Flesh and the Spur”), many of them for the director Roger Corman, and at least one enduring film: “The Ten Commandments” (1956). Mr. Connors was born Krekor Ohanian on Aug. 15, 1925, in Fresno, Calif. He served in the Air Force during World War II, then enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he played basketball on a scholarship, earning the nickname “Touch” on the court. His father was a lawyer, many of whose clients were poor and would often pay him with fruit, vegetables or chickens, Mr. Connors told an interviewer.
He bounced between film and television for much of this time and was a guest star on several series (eventually changing his first name to “Michael” and then to “Mike”) before landing a lead role in 1959. The show was “Tightrope,” in which Mr. Connors played an undercover agent with one revolver in his shoulder holster and another hidden behind his back. It received good ratings but was canceled after one season; excessive violence was cited as a factor, one that would surface again when CBS cast him in “Mannix.” His plans to study law were interrupted when the director William A. Wellman saw him on the basketball court and encouraged him to try acting. One of his first film roles was in Wellman’s 1953 adventure film “Island in the Sky.”
By the end of its eight-season run, “Mannix” earned Mr. Connors a salary of $40,000 an episode. He used his fame to publicize a then-underreported chapter in Armenian history by narrating “The Forgotten Genocide,” a 1975 documentary about the targeted killing of hundreds of thousands of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. He would later narrate another Armenian-themed documentary, “Ararat Beckons,” by the same director, J. Michael Hagopian. Under the name Touch Connors, he appeared in several low-budget B-movies (“Swamp Women,” “Flesh and the Spur”), many of them for the director Roger Corman, and at least one enduring film: “The Ten Commandments” (1956), in which he played a herder.
One more crime series lay in Mr. Connors’s future — “Today’s FBI,” which lasted one season on ABC in 1981 — and he later was guest-star on several shows, including an episode of “Diagnosis: Murder” in which he and several of his “Mannix” co-stars reprised their characters. He also appeared on a 2007 episode of “Two and a Half Men.” He bounced between film and television for much of the 1950s, appearing as a guest star on numerous series (“The Millionaire,” “Gunsmoke,” “Have Gun - Will Travel”). He was also persuaded to change his first name to Michael and then Mike.
He is survived by Mary Lou Wells, his wife of 67 years; one daughter; and one granddaughter. Mr. Connors landed a lead role in 1959 in “Tightrope,” in which he played an undercover agent with one revolver in his shoulder holster and another hidden behind his back. It received good ratings but was canceled after one season; complaints about excessive violence were cited as one factor — an issue that would resurface in “Mannix.”
The 1960s brought him more guest-starring roles on television (“The Untouchables,” “Perry Mason,” “The Red Skelton Hour”) as well as movie parts (supporting roles in “Harlow” and “Stagecoach” and a leading role in a panned spy-movie spoof “Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die.”)
Then came “Mannix.” During its run Lucille Ball and Mr. Connors produced a crossover episode of her sitcom “Here’s Lucy” titled “Lucy and Mannix Are Held Hostage.”
Mr. Connors used his fame from “Mannix” to publicize a then-underreported chapter in Armenian history by narrating “The Forgotten Genocide,” J. Michael Hagopian’s 1975 documentary about the killing of hundreds of thousands of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. He later narrated another Armenian-themed documentary, “Ararat Beckons,” by the same director.
He had another leading role in 1981, in the ABC crime series “Today’s FBI,” which lasted only one season. The rest of the 1980s and ’90s brought more TV guest-star appearances (“The Love Boat,” “Murder, She Wrote,” “Walker, Texas Ranger,” “Diagnosis: Murder,” in which he and “Mannix” co-stars reprised their characters); parts in miniseries (“War and Rembrance,” based on the Herman Wouk novel), and various film and TV-movie roles.
He also appeared on a 2007 episode of “Two and a Half Men.”
He is survived by Mary Lou Wells, his wife of 67 years; a daughter, Dena, and a granddaughter.
In talking about his career with Tom Weaver for the 2003 book “Eye on Science Fiction: 20 Interviews With Classic SF and Horror Filmmakers,” Mr. Connors recalled the 1950s as a time of both ambition and dreams deferred.
“My favorite actors in those days were Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Bill Holden,” he said, adding that he had admired them for their “natural-type acting” and had wished for roles like theirs.
“I knew the type of acting I liked — that very natural type of acting,” he said, “but I just wanted to be successful. So, whatever. I was willing to do anything that they’d hire me for.”