Name
Kevin Dobson
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1943-03-18
Deathday
2020-09-06 (77 years old)
Place of Birth
New York City, New York, USA
Biography
Kevin Patrick Dobson is an American film and television actor, best known for his roles as Detective Bobby Crocker, the trusted protege of Lt. Theo Kojak (played by Telly Savalas) in the CBS crime drama Kojak, and as M. Patrick "Mack" MacKenzie in the soap opera Knots Landing.
After a brief appearance in the 1971 film Klute, and small acting roles on TV series such as The Mod Squad, Emergency! and Cannon, Dobson signed a contract with Universal Studios in 1972. This led to his role of Det. Bobby Crocker, Lt. Theo Kojak's young partner, in the TV series Kojak, opposite Telly Savalas. For the role, he had to borrow a suit. He had twice auditioned and failed, then called his agent, telling him, "'Do what you have to do,' so he called in a favor and I read for them [again]. I was a military policeman in the Army, so I knew how to hold a gun and throw somebody against a wall. I got a call [the next night] asking if I'd sign a contract." Dobson auditioned for a third time and finally won. He remained with Kojak for its entire five-season run from 1973 to 1978, and later reunited with Savalas for the 1990 TV movie, Kojak: It's Always Something, his character having become an assistant district attorney. They remained friends until Savalas' death from bladder cancer in 1994.
In 1978, Dobson played Pete Lomas in the two-part TV movie The Immigrants, based on the novel by Howard Fast.
In 1981, Dobson starred as Det. Jack Shannon, a San Francisco police officer who is a single father, in the CBS series Shannon. However, the show failed to gain substantial ratings and was canceled after nine episodes. A more successful TV role for Dobson followed in 1982: M. Patrick "Mack" MacKenzie in the soap opera Knots Landing, opposite Michele Lee. He joined the show at the beginning of its fourth season in September 1982 and remained in the role until its cancellation in 1993. Dobson won five Soap Opera Digest Awards for his work on the series. He later reunited with his Knots Landing co-stars for a miniseries, Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac in 1997, and again in the 2005 non-fiction special Knots Landing Reunion: Together Again.
Dobson has also appeared in a number of feature films, most notably the World War II movie, Midway, alongside Henry Fonda and Charlton Heston, as Ensign George Gay — a pilot and the sole survivor of Torpedo Squadron Eight from the Aircraft Carrier USS Hornet's ill-fated opening attack against the Japanese fleet on June 4, 1942. Another prominent role was as the husband of Barbra Streisand in the 1981 romantic comedy All Night Long. He also had a small role as a priest in the well-received 2007 psychological horror film 1408.
Dobson continued to appear in a number of TV roles, including the syndicated F/X: The Series for one season, the drama series The Bold and the Beautiful, and as the fourth actor to play Mickey Horton on Days of Our Lives.
Known For
5.27
Executive George Dupler loses his temper and is demoted to the night manager at a 24 hour ...
3.7
With their father killed by a swarm of vampiric sea creatures, Bering Sea adventurers, Joe...
4.5
A drama and thriller story of a young woman who has suffered great abuse as a girl and who...
4.7
When a hostage situation arises on-board a private plane with the daughter of a billionair...
7.1
A young wife and mother is abused by her husband and keeps the secret from her friends and...
4
When the mayor of a crime-ridden city and his opponent are both assassinated while seeking...
- 1998 Mom, Can I Keep Her? as Dr. Joel Blair
- 1998 Nobody Lives Forever as Lt. Jim Ransom
- 1996 Voice from the Grave as Detective Joe Sraccula
- 2006 Crash Landing as Henderson Davis
- 1979 Transplant as John Hurley
- 1981 All Night Long as Bobby Gibbons
- 1980 Hardhat & Legs as Sal Pacheco
- 1980 Mark, I Love You as Hal Painter
- 1989 Money, Power, Murder. as Peter Finley
- 1999 Restraining Order as Police Captain
- 2002 She's No Angel as Donald Shawnessy
- 1981 Margin for Murder as Mike Hammer
- 1995 If Someone Had Known as Jack Liner
- 2013 Beast of the Bering Sea as Glenn Hunter
- 1992 A House of Secrets and Lies as Jack Evans
- 1980 Reunion as Don Hollander
- 1991 Fatal Friendship as Michael Bradley
- 1992 Dirty Work as Tommy Miller
- 1984 Sweet Revenge as Col. Joseph Cheever
- 1996 FX - Final Illusion as Leo McCarthy (archive footage)
- 1993 The Conviction of Kitty Dodds as Chuck Hayes
- 2007 1408 as Priest
- 2009 Portal as Benedict
- 1990 Casey's Gift: For Love of a Child as Hank Bolen
- 2007 Christmas at Cadillac Jack's as Cop
- 2013 Dark Power as Mayor Stan Wood
- 1990 Kojak: It's Always Something as Assistant D.A. Bobby Crocker
- 1976 Midway as Ensign George Gay
- 1971 Klute as Man at Bar (uncredited)
- 2001 The Making of Midway as Self (archive footage)
- 1996 FX: The Series ( 23 episodes ) as Detective Leo McCarthy
- 1994 Touched by an Angel ( 1 episode ) as Earl Rowley
- 1996 Early Edition ( 1 episode ) as Darrel Foster
- 2003 Cold Case ( 1 episode ) as Mickey Thompson (2008)
- 1979 Tales of the Unexpected ( 1 episode ) as Fred Pearson
- 1991 The Commish ( 1 episode )
- 1979 Knots Landing ( 291 episodes ) as M. Patrick MacKenzie
- 1973 Kojak ( 118 episodes ) as Bobby Crocker
- 1971 Cannon ( 1 episode )
- 1976 Battle of the Network Stars ( 1 episode )
- 2010 Hawaii Five-0 ( 1 episode ) as Al Shepard
- 1997 Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac ( 2 episodes ) as M. Patrick McKenzie
- 1961 The Mike Douglas Show ( 4 episodes ) as Self
- 2000 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ( 1 episode ) as Malcolm Turner
- 1961 The Mike Douglas Show ( 1 episode ) as Self - Co-Host
- 1974 Dinah! ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1967 Ironside ( 1 episode ) as Young Marine
- 1994 Burke's Law ( 1 episode ) as Sheriff Greene
- 1996 Nash Bridges ( 1 episode ) as Raymond Porter
- 2012 Anger Management ( 1 episode ) as Dr. Cameron
- 1968 The Mod Squad ( 1 episode ) as Howie
- 1972 Emergency! ( 1 episode ) as 1st Deputy
- 1981 Shannon ( 10 episodes ) as Det. Jack Shannon
- 1978 The Immigrants ( 2 episodes ) as Pete Lomas
- 2012 House of Lies ( 4 episodes ) as Mr. Pinkus
