RIP: TV Icon Mike Connors

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Actor Mike Connors died yesterday at age 91, less than a week after he had been diagnosed as suffering from leukemia. Connors debuted in the 1950s, appearing in movies and on TV, initially billed as Touch Connors, before changing it to Mike Connors as his stage name. Connors was Armenian, born Krekor Ohanian. He took the name Touch from his involvement in playing basketball. His best known role was Mannix, which was another series greenlighted by Lucille Ball. One episode of "Mannix" featured an appearance by the Buffalo Springfield performing one of Neil Young's songs. The first season of the series had so-so ratings, which usually meant cancellation. However, CBS did not want to agitate Lucille Ball and changes were made to the show, changing the series from Mannix being employed by a mysterious agency to a private eye who didn't look the part, although he was a tough looking guy. Like DeForest Kelley's immortal Star Trek line, "He's dead, Jim," Mike Connors contributed the immortal line after being shot for what must have been the millionth time, "It's just a scratch." Connors was a very good, underrated actor, playing both heavies and good guys and others in between. He stayed active most of his life and throughout it all, grateful. He worked with some of the great actors of Hollywood's golden era and felt sad for the younger actors who didn't have the icons he had the chance to work with. If he appeared in their movie or tv show, they did. RIP, Mike. It was just a scratch.

www.yahoo.com/tv/mannix-star-mike-connors-dies-91-030900550.html

[erik]

I really can't believe that 2017 will exceed 2016 in terms of entertainment losses, but it now sadly looks like that will be the case.

Mannix, which ran from 1968 to 1976, was indeed quite a good TV show at a time when there was a surplus of them, and Connors was a great star of his time.