| Richard Bakalyan | |
| Birth Date: | January 29, 1931 |
| Birth Place: | Watertown, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Elmira, New York, U.S. |
| Resting Place: | Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills |
| Other Names: | Dick Bakalyan |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Years Active: | 1954–2008 |
Richard Bakalyan (January 29, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor who started his career playing juvenile delinquents in his first several films.
Richard Bakalyan was born on January 29, 1931, in Watertown, Massachusetts, the son of Armenian-born William Nishan Bakalyan and Elsie Florence (née Fancy) Bakalyan, a Canadian from Nova Scotia. He had two brothers. His father died in 1939, when Richard was 8.[1]
Growing up in a tough neighborhood, Bakalyan learned boxing to defend himself in street fights. He served a year's probation at age 15 for unknown crimes.[2]
Bakalyan served in the United States Air Force during the Korean War.[3] After four years of service, he was honorably discharged with the rank of staff sergeant.
Early in his career he was cast as thugs, outlaws, and in military action films, like The Delinquents (1957), The Bonnie Parker Story (1958), and Up Periscope (1959).[4] During the filming of 1958's juvenile-gang drama The Cool and the Crazy, he and fellow actor Dick Jones were arrested for vagrancy for real on-location in Kansas City. They were standing on the corner between takes in "JD" outfits and the police thought that they were actual gang members. It took several hours for the film crew to explain to the police what was going on and get them released from jail.
By the mid-1960s, as he grew out of these roles, he became something of a comic heavy, often cast in family Disney films though still known in dramas. Some of his Disney projects included Never a Dull Moment (1968), The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969), The Strongest Man in the World (1975), Return from Witch Mountain (1978), and voice-efforts in The Fox and the Hound (1981), as 'Dinky' the finch bird.[5]
Bakalyan had an uncredited role in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) as the good thief on the cross. He appeared in several of Frank Sinatra's movies during the 1960s, such as Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964), None but the Brave (1965), and Von Ryan's Express (1965), becoming lifelong friends with the Sinatra family. While filming Pressure Point in 1962, he met co-star Bobby Darin, who later became one of Bakalyan's closest friends.[6] It's reported Bakalyan was one of the last friends to see Darin, before his premature death from heart disease, in December, 1973. Bakalyan played Detective Loach in Roman Polanski's 1974 film Chinatown opposite Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway.
Bakalyan has also appeared on numerous television shows from the 1950s through the 2000s. Early small screen performances came in Panic!, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Hawaiian Eye and The Untouchables. In 1962, he played Sgt. Wolfson on the World War II drama Combat! in the 1st season, episode 12 "The Prisoner",[7] returning in 1966 to play Sgt. Piper in the 4th season, episode 27 "Gitty".[8] Later he appeared in a variety of shows, including Batman, Ellery Queen, Mannix, Love, American Style, Kojak, The Bionic Woman, Charlie's Angels, Hill Street Blues, Emergency! (1977 S6-E15), where he starred as Charley a fire apparatus mechanic, and the NBC comedy series My Name Is Earl, which was his last screen effort in October 2008.[9]
In 1968, Bakalyan was featured in "Way Down Cellar," a two-part story on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color.[10] He was a regular on Dean Martin Presents: The Bobby Darin Amusement Company (1972) and The Bobby Darin Show (1973).
Bakalyan was married to Elizabeth Baumann from 1952 until her death in 1967.[11]
A prolific character actor, Bakalyan was profiled in the book Names You Never Remember, With Faces You Never Forget by Justin Humphreys.
Bakalyan died suddenly of a stroke on February 27, 2015, at the Arnot Ogden Medical Center, in Elmira, New York, aged 84.[12]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Attila | |||
| 1957 | The Delinquents | Eddy | ||
| 1957 | The Delicate Delinquent | Artie | ||
| 1957 | Dino | Chuck | ||
| 1957 | The Brothers Rico | Vic Tucci | ||
| 1957 | Hear Me Good | Hermie | ||
| 1958 | The Cool and the Crazy | Jackie Barzan | ||
| 1958 | Juvenile Jungle | Tic-Tac | ||
| 1958 | The Bonnie Parker Story | Duke Jefferson | ||
| 1958 | Hot Car Girl | Walter 'Duke' Willis | ||
| 1959 | Paratroop Command | Charlie | ||
| 1959 | Up Periscope | Seaman Peck | ||
| 1959 | -30- | Carl Thompson | ||
| 1961 | The Errand Boy | Jason, Anastasia's Director | ||
| 1962 | Panic in Year Zero! | Carl | ||
| 1962 | Pressure Point | Jimmy | ||
| 1962 | Follow That Dream | Sheriff | ||
| 1963 | Operation Bikini | Seaman Hiller | Uncredited | |
| 1964 | Robin and the 7 Hoods | Robbo's Hood #1 | ||
| 1964 | The Patsy | Boy at Spring Hop | Uncredited | |
| 1965 | None but the Brave | Corporal Ruffino | ||
| 1965 | The Greatest Story Ever Told | Good Thief on Cross | Uncredited | |
| 1965 | Donald's Fire Survival Plan | Common Sense (voice) | Short film | |
| 1965 | Von Ryan's Express | Corporal Giannini | ||
| 1966 | Follow Me, Boys! | Umpire | Uncredited | |
| 1967 | The St. Valentine's Day Massacre | John Scalise | ||
| 1968 | Never a Dull Moment | Bobby Macoon | ||
| 1969 | It's Tough to Be a Bird | M.C. Bird (voice) | Short film | |
| 1969 | The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes | Chillie Walsh | ||
| 1972 | Now You See Him, Now You Don't | Cookie | ||
| 1973 | Charley and the Angel | Buggs | ||
| 1974 | Chinatown | Detective Loach | ||
| 1975 | The Strongest Man in the World | Cookie | ||
| 1976 | The Shaggy D.A. | Freddie | ||
| 1978 | Return from Witch Mountain | Eddie | ||
| 1979 | Understanding Alcohol Use and Abuse | Emotion (voice) | Short film | |
| 1979 | H.O.T.S. | Charlie Ingels | ||
| 1980 | The Man with Bogart's Face | Lt. Bumbera | ||
| 1981 | The Fox and the Hound | Dinky (voice) | ||
| 1984 | Blame It on the Night | Manzini | ||
| 1994 | Confessions of a Hitman | Uncle Dino | ||
| 2000 | The Mask Maker | Mask Maker | Short film | |
| 2001 | Dischord | Det. Dunbarton | ||
| 2006 | Art School Confidential | Cranky Guard |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Luke and the Tenderfoot | Bill Bangles | Episode: "The Boston Kid" | |
| 1957 | Official Detective | Bob Wolfe | Episode: "The Blind Man" | |
| 1957 | The Lineup | Episode: "The 17643 Case" | ||
| 1957 | Casey Jones | Jackie | Episode: "Way Station" | |
| 1957–1958 | The Walter Winchell File | Yutch / Sid | 2 episodes | |
| 1958 | Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer | Lou | Episode: "Dead Men Don't Dream" | |
| 1958 | Panic! | Carl | 2 episodes | |
| 1958 | The Silent Service | Torpedoman Pasqual Mignon / Motor Machinist Mate George J. McKnight | 2 episodes | |
| 1958 | Bat Masterson | Sam Teller | Episode: "Double Trouble in Trinidad" | |
| 1959 | The D.A.'s Man | Dunn | Episode: "The Mob Versus O'Hara" | |
| 1959 | The Lawless Years | Eddie Safranik / Buggsy | 2 episodes | |
| 1959 | U.S. Marshal | Joe Savage | Episode: "Trigger Happy" | |
| 1959 | Hotel de Paree | Rob | Episode: "A Rope Is for Hanging" | |
| 1959 | The Deputy | Billy the Kid | Episode: "The Big Four" | |
| 1959 | Peter Gunn | Chino Amalo | Episode: "Kidnap" | |
| 1959 | Hennesey | Harry Benson | Episode: "Hennesey Meets Mrs. Horatio Grief" | |
| 1959 | Tightrope! | Loomis | Episode: "Cold Kill" | |
| 1959 | Bold Venture | Johnny Regis | Episode: "Blue Moon" | |
| 1959–1961 | The Rebel | Bart Vogan / Calley Kid | 3 episodes | |
| 1960 | Wanted Dead or Alive | Harry Quint | Episode: "Angela" | |
| 1960 | Johnny Ringo | Lee Rafferty | Episode: "The Raffertys" | |
| 1960 | Mr. Lucky | Spider | Episode: "Big Squeeze" | |
| 1960 | Lock-Up | Spook Chambers | Episode: "Society Matron" | |
| 1960 | Dan Raven | Darnell | Episode: "The Satchel Man" | |
| 1960 | The Tall Man | Tiger Eye | Episode: "Tiger Eye" | |
| 1960–1963 | The Untouchables | Cully / Lucky / Benno / Monk / Prisoner / Joe Courtney | 6 episodes | |
| 1961 | The DuPont Show with June Allyson | Lieutenant | Episode: "End of a Mission" | |
| 1961 | Checkmate | Cabbie | Episode: "The Human Touch" | |
| 1961 | The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis | Sergeant Wyncoup | 2 episodes | |
| 1961 | Miami Undercover | Zip Logan | Episode: "Auto Motive" | |
| 1961 | Holiday Lodge | Bobo Manning | Episode: "Never Hit a Stranger" | |
| 1961 | Lawman | Eggers - Bank Robber | Episode: "Trojan Horse" | |
| 1961 | Straightaway | Mike | Episode: "The Heist" | |
| 1961 | Las Vegas Beat | Lt. Bernard McFeety | Television film | |
| 1962 | The New Breed | Episode: "To Sell Another Human Being" | ||
| 1962 | Dr. Kildare | Yount | Episode: "The Burning Sky" | |
| 1962 | The Dick Powell Show | Justin Wolf / Bartender | 2 episodes | |
| 1962–1966 | Combat! | Sgt. Piper / Sgt. Wolfson | 2 episodes | |
| 1963 | Hawaiian Eye | Spence Merrill | Episode: "The Long Way Home" | |
| 1963 | Laramie | Mel Doleman | Episode: "Broken Honor" | |
| 1963 | Wagon Train | Muscles | Episode: "The Sam Pulaski Story" | |
| 1964 | Channing | Roberto | Episode: "Memory of a Firing Squad" | |
| 1964 | Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Charlie | Episode: "Two Is the Number" | |
| 1964 | Ben Casey | Abner Goetz | Episode: "For a Just Man Falleth Seven Times" | |
| 1965 | Wendy and Me | Pete | Episode: "The Wendy Mob" | |
| 1965 | No Time for Sergeants | Stanley Swackheimer | Episode: "Whortleberry Roots for Everyone" | |
| 1965 | Vacation Playhouse | Episode: "Luke and the Tenderfoot" | ||
| 1965 | Branded | Roy Barlow | Episode: "The Richest Man in Boot Hill" | |
| 1966 | Mister Roberts | Joe | Episode: "Black and Blue Market" | |
| 1966 | The Monroes | Grac | Episode: "Night of the Wolf" | |
| 1966 | The Tammy Grimes Show | Tony | Episode: "How to Steal a Girl Even If It's Only Me" | |
| 1966–1968 | Batman | Verdigris / C. B. / Arbutus / Fouad Sphinx | 6 episodes | |
| 1966–1969 | Gunsmoke | Billy Holland / Teems | 2 episodes | |
| 1967 | The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. | Brutus | Episode: "The Phi Beta Killer Affair" | |
| 1967 | Hondo | Cole Younger | Episode: "Hondo and the Judas" | |
| 1967 | Cimarron Strip | Colly Sims | Episode: "Nobody" | |
| 1967–1972 | Mannix | Eberle / Vincent's Thug / Frank Quigley | 3 episodes | |
| 1967–1978 | The Wonderful World of Disney | Ernie Nelson / Charlie / Shortie / Jocko / Narrator (voice) | 8 episodes | |
| 1968 | Garrison's Gorillas | Cpl. Robert Wade | Episode: "War Games" | |
| 1968 | The Mod Squad | Fuller | Episode: "The Price of Terror" | |
| 1968 | Felony Squad | Gus Levering | Episode: "The Distant Shore" | |
| 1970 | The Partridge Family | Skee | Episode: "Danny and the Mob" | |
| 1971 | Love, American Style | Burglar | Segment: "Love and the Hiccups" | |
| 1972 | The Bobby Darin Amusement Co. | Himself | 7 episodes | |
| 1973 | The Bobby Darin Show | Himself / Carmine | 11 episodes | |
| 1974 | Chase | Manduke | Episode: "Eighty-Six Proof TNT" | |
| 1974 | The Manhunter | Johnny Fusco | Episode: "Jackknife" | |
| 1974–1975 | Cannon | Dieter / Andy Norlan | 2 episodes | |
| 1975 | The 1st Killer | Episode: "The Trevi Collection" | ||
| 1975 | Kojak | Proctor | Episode: "Be Careful What You Pray For" | |
| 1975–1977 | Emergency! | Charlie / Charley / Dewey | 3 episodes | |
| 1976 | The Whiz Kid and the Carnival Caper | Ernie Nelson | Television film | |
| 1976 | Ellery Queen | Knucks O'Neill | Episode: "The Adventure of the Sunday Punch" | |
| 1976 | Woman of the Year | Pinkey Barbiki | Television film | |
| 1976 | Viva Valdez | Moretti | Episode: "The Apprentice" | |
| 1976 | Monster Squad | Toil | Episode: "Ultra Witch" | |
| 1976 | Switch | Sgt. Kingman | Episode: "Quicker Than the Eye" | |
| 1976 | Holmes & Yoyo | Phillips | Episode: "The Hostages" | |
| 1977 | The Streets of San Francisco | Gimpy | Episode: "Hang Tough" | |
| 1977 | Most Wanted | Fred Conroy | Episode: "Ms. Murder" | |
| 1977 | The Bionic Woman | Gino Talvin | Episode: "Once a Thief" | |
| 1977 | Pine Canyon Is Burning | Charlie Edison | Television film | |
| 1977 | Bunco | Henry Durand | Television film | |
| 1977–1978 | Barnaby Jones | Winchell / Harry Layton | 2 episodes | |
| 1978 | The Rockford Files | Porter | Episode: "The Gang at Don's Drive-In" | |
| 1978–1981 | Vegas | Bernie / Freddie 'Fingers' / Bronson / Marvin Hale | 5 episodes | |
| 1978–1981 | Charlie's Angels | Artie Weaver / Eddie Feducci / Thad Roper | 3 episodes | |
| 1980 | CHiPs | O'Hare | Episode: "The Strippers" | |
| 1980 | The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo | Mr. Crawford | Episode: "The Haunting of Orly Manor" | |
| 1980 | The Love Boat | Ben | Episode: "Celebration/Captain Papa/Honeymoon Pressure" | |
| 1981 | Border Pals | Little Eddie | Television film | |
| 1981 | Fantasy Island | James | Episode: "The Lady and the Monster/The Last Cowboy" | |
| 1981–1984 | The Fall Guy | Walt / Red Eye | 2 episodes | |
| 1982 | Herbie, the Love Bug | Detective O'Brien | Episode: "Herbie the Best Man" | |
| 1983 | Cagney & Lacey | John Travis | Episode: "Jane Doe #37" | |
| 1983 | Shooting Stars | Snuffy | Television film | |
| 1984 | Matt Houston | Jimmy | Episode: "The High Fashion Murders" | |
| 1984 | Hill Street Blues | Flaherty | Episode: "Fuched Again" | |
| 1985 | Frank Jacobs | Television film | ||
| 1986 | Hardcastle and McCormick | Paul Perry | Episode: "When I Look Back on All the Things" | |
| 1987 | Scarecrow and Mrs. King | Meatball Bonfelli | Episode: "The Khrushchev List" | |
| 1987 | Sledge Hammer! | Clive Winston | Episode: "Hammer Hits the Rock" | |
| 1987–1988 | Hunter | Kenny Dunstan | 3 episodes | |
| 1987–1990 | Matlock | Mickey Callahan / Bobby Devine | 2 episodes | |
| 1995 | Hudson Street | Frank Rampert | Episode: "Crime, Per Se" | |
| 1995–1996 | Baywatch Nights | Bookie / Informant / Peebles Runkin | 2 episodes | |
| 1998 | JAG | Harold Green | Episode: "Yesterday's Heroes" | |
| 1998 | Millennium | Abum | Episode: "Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me" | |
| 2004 | Las Vegas | 'Fast Tommy' Polone | Episode: "Always Faithful" | |
| 2004 | Cold Case | Wendell Foyt | Episode: "The House" | |
| 2008 | My Name Is Earl | Mr. Wallace | Episode: "Quit Your Snitchin'" |