Mike Connors, Principled Private Detective on 'Mannix,' Dies at 91

[PSPS]

Source: HR



As the heroic good guy on the CBS action series, he was among the highest-paid TV actors in the early 1970s. He played basketball for John Wooden at UCLA.

Mike Connors, who took a punch as well as anyone while playing the good-guy private detective on the long-running Saturday night action series Mannix for CBS, has died. He was 91.

A former basketball player for legendary coach John Wooden at UCLA, Connors died Thursday, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed. No other details were immediately available.



Read more: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/mike-connors-dead-star-mannix-was-91-969213

[BigDemVoter]

1. Yikes, this makes me feel old.

I remember watching this show.

[Auggie]

2. A good guy, I believe ... I've never seen negative press/memories on him.

I loved him in Mannix and am, at this very moment, binging on the 8 disc DVD set of the entire series.

[BumRushDaShow]

3. Wow. Didn't realize he was still around.

R.I.P.

[PDittie]

4. From the NYT

(A reporter for The Washington Post tabulated the wear and tear that Mannix withstood over eight seasons; it included 17 gunshot wounds and 55 instances of being beaten unconscious.)

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/27/arts/mike-connors-mannix-dies.html

They referred to him as "glass-jawed', but I would consider it quite the opposite (he did survive and thrive, after all).

[Bob Loblaw]

5. It seemed like

every third episode or so he would get hit over the head by someone in the back seat of his car. Even as a little kid I wondered why he never learned to lock his car.

[hamsterjill]

6. Aw, man. I loved that show.

Joe had a car phone!!! He was so cool!

Thank you for the hours of entertainment, Mr. Connors. Peace and comfort to your friends and family.

[Kingofalldems]

7. I remember his first series--Tightrope.

Great opening:

[Auggie]

16. From some angles he's a dead ringer for Sean Connery

Tightrope was a little before my time ... I was only two!

[Kingofalldems]

17. It was quite racy for it's time. I was 11.

And the show gimmick was the holster on his back. Got him out of many jams with his quick draw.

[Auggie]

18. I was 10 when Mannix debuted ...

I thought Joe was the epitome of cool. The job, the car, the L.A. apartment ...

[Kingofalldems]

19. Funny I never saw one episode.

BTW, he was a heck of a basketball player also.

[Javaman]

8. Loved Mannix when I was growing up.

my brother and I used to watch it all the time.

At the time, the show held the record for the most crashed vehicles per episode. LOL

Rest in Peace Mr. Conners.

[hlthe2b]

9. One of my late Mother's favorite shows...He had a very long life, but still sad to see

Grief numbs but is always there and seeing these stars go, just sort of brings it back. RIP, Mr. Connors.

[yuiyoshida]

10. My dad liked this show...

[mahatmakanejeeves]

12. As soon as that theme song started, I knew it was by Lalo Schifrin.

Also helping was that Bruce Geller developed the show. Those two facts link it to Mission Impossible.

Lalo Schifrin

One of Schifrin's most recognizable and enduring compositions is the theme music for the long-running TV series Mission: Impossible. It is a distinctive tune written in the uncommon 5/4 time signature. Similarly, Schifrin's theme for the hugely successful Mannix private eye TV show was composed a year later in a 3/4 waltz time; Schifrin composed several other jazzy and bluesy numbers over the years as additional incidental music for the show.

Was that a Toronado convertible at 0:10? I didn't know there was such a thing.

Punch cards!

[7962]

11. One of my dad's favorite shows. nt

[Aristus]

13. I loved that show!

Sorry to hear of his death.

[byronius]

14. Very ethically advanced show. Watched it every week.

[joanbarnes]

15. Loved Mannix. Watched while babysitting.

[Liberalagogo]

20. 2017 is trying to outdo 2016

Mary Tyler Moore

Mike Connors

Barbara Hale

John Hurt