Dennis Cole, at 69; starred in television’s ‘Felony Squad’
NEW YORK - Dennis Cole, a blond, chiseled former model whose face became familiar to television viewers in the 1960s when he played the first of his panoply of roles in more than a dozen prime-time series, died Nov. 15 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where he resided. He was 69.
The cause has not been determined, said Mr. Cole’s publicist, Edward Lozzi.
With the looks of a California surfer though he was born in Michigan, Mr. Cole moved to Hollywood in the early 1960s and worked as a model for men’s magazines and as a stuntman. His first big acting break came in 1966, when he won a leading role as a hunky detective on the ABC police drama “Felony Squad.’’ The show ran for three years. In 1971 he starred with Rod Taylor in “Bearcats,’’ about two adventure-seekers roaming the country in their Stutz Bearcat sports car in the early 20th century.
Through the ’70s and ’80s Mr. Cole appeared in many other series, including “Bracken’s World,’’ “Medical Center,’’ “Police Story,’’ “Fantasy Island,’’ “Trapper John, M.D.,’’ “Murder, She Wrote,’’ “Barnaby Jones,’’ “The Love Boat,’’ “The Streets of San Francisco,’’ and “Charlie’s Angels.’’
In 1978, on the set of “Charlie’s Angels,’’ Mr. Cole met one of the show’s “angels,’’ Jaclyn Smith. They soon married, but divorced in 1981.