George Murdock (born George Sawaya Jr.; June 25, 1930 – April 30, 2012) was an American character actor, whose career was mainly in television.
Early years Murdock was born in Salina, Kansas. He was the second child of seven children born to George R. Sawaya, a Lebanese immigrant, and Olive (née Johnson) Sawaya.
Career Murdock was an original cast member of the Los Angeles-based Melrose Theatre, appearing in “Lester Sims Retires Tomorrow” during its early 1980s off-Broadway run, while also appearing in productions staged at the South Coast Repertory as well as the Los Angeles Theater Center and the Odyssey Theatre.
Murdock was known for frequently playing judges, (for instance, Judge Julius Hoffman in West Coast and Chicago stage productions of The Chicago Conspiracy Trial and in an adaptation for BBC Radio), he also performed the role of "Big Daddy" in Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with the Arizona Theater Company during the 1988 season. He was also Laszlo Gabo on the 1986–87 sitcom What a Country!. These appearances, along with roles that leveraged Murdock’s craggy facial features and deep bass voice, led a Los Angeles Times reporter to ask him in 1982 if he ever objected to being typecast, to which Murdoch responded, “Getting the job is important. Who cares where it comes from.”
Among his most well-known characters for movies and television were Lt. Scanlon, the bitter and suspicious NYPD Internal Affairs officer in Barney Miller, Dr. Salik in Battlestar Galactica TV series, "God" in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Admiral Hanson in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Best of Both Worlds", and as Yuri Testikov in the Seinfeld episode, "The Marine Biologist".
Death On April 30, 2012, Murdock died of cancer in Burbank, California, at age 81. He was survived by his wife, Cathy, and a stepdaughter.
Filmography
The Twilight Zone (Episode: "The Dummy") (1962, TV Series) as Willie The Untouchables (1962, TV Series) as Pete Topchinski / Gus Dmytryk Pressure Point (1962) as Rally Speaker (uncredited) 77 Sunset Strip (1963, TV Series) as Frank Syden He Rides Tall (1964) as Burt Taggart (1964) as Army Scout (uncredited) Combat! (1965, TV Series) as Marcus I Spy (1965, TV Series) as Mariner Bonanza (1965-1970, TV Series) as Luis Getty / Marks / Floyd Ben Casey (1965) as Byron B. Davis The F.B.I. (1965–1974, TV Series) as Dirken / Vic Kirby / Al Evans Tarzan (1966–1967, TV Series) as Eric / Damian / Karl Gunn (1967) as Archie Batman (1967) as one of Catwoman's henchmen The Wild Wild West (1967, TV Series) as Luther Coyle Gunsmoke (1967–1974, TV Series) as Luke / Cole Matson / Bret Gruber / Jim Travers Ironside (1968–1974, TV Series) as Sheriff / Phil Wagner / Jim Peters / Lee R. Anderson / FBI Agent Torrence / Capt. Walter Finch / Victor Cramer Blackbeard's Ghost (1968) as Head Official Cimarron Strip (1968, TV Series) as Bladgey The Virginian (1969, TV Series) as Barton Night Gallery (1969, TV Series) as 1st Agent It Takes a Thief (1970, TV series) as Devon Hawaii Five-O (1971, TV Series) as Hank Merrill The Mod Squad (1971, TV Series) as Price The Todd Killings (1971) as Police Officer Adam-12 (1971, TV Series) as Mr. Williams Bearcats! (1971, TV Series) as Coot Leonard Banacek (1972–1974, TV Series) as Cavanaugh McCloud (1972–1974, TV Series) as Sergeant Rosovitch / Officer Duncan The Mack (1973) as Fatman The New Perry Mason (1973, TV Series) as Sgt. Dave Cook The Magician (1973, TV Series) as Timothy Dunagan Willie Dynamite (1974) as Celli Thomasine & Bushrod (1974) as U.S. Marshal Bogardie The Six Million Dollar Man (1974, TV Series) as Rossi Hangup (1974) as Captain Gorney Earthquake (1974) as Colonel The Streets of San Francisco (1974–1977, TV Series) as Harlan Betts / Dempsey / Merle The Invisible Man (1975, TV Series) as Captain Scopes Police Woman (1975, TV Series) as Hogan / Macon Barney Miller (1976–1982, TV Series) as Lt. Ben Scanlon Little House on the Prairie (1977, TV Series) as Jeremy Stokes Breaker! Breaker! (1977) as Judge Joshua Trimmings Thunder and Lightning (1977) as Jake Summers Lou Grant (1977, TV Series) as Sgt. Irwin Winowsky The Rockford Files (1978, TV Series) as Doc Holliday Battlestar Galactica (1978–1979, TV Series) as the Doctor The Dukes of Hazzard (1979, TV Series) as Big Jim Downey The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo (1979–1981, TV Series) as Mr. Sheldon / Mayor Hawkins Any Which Way You Can (1980) as Sgt. Cooley Trapper John, M.D. (1981, TV Series) as Jobo's Dad Shoot the Moon (1982) as French DeVoe Bosom Buddies (1982, TV Series) as Elliot Pardo T. J. Hooker (1982, TV Series) as Detective Jackson The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982) as Quade Hill Street Blues (1982, TV Series) as Buck Remington Benson (1982, TV Series) as Officer George Grimsby The Winds of War (1983) as Brig. Gen. 'Fitz' Fitzgerald I'm Going to Be Famous (1983) Knight Rider (1983–1984, TV Series) as Archibald / Judge Oliver Callan Night Court (1984, TV Series) as Detective Griffin / Sergeant Foster / Hank Mire / Womack Fame (1985, TV Series) as Mr. Pulaski Certain Fury (1985) as Lt. Speier Murder, She Wrote (1985, TV Series) as Officer Kaplan Small Wonder (1986, TV Series) as Mr. Gordon Retribution (1987) as Dr. John Talbot Dynasty (1988, TV Series) as Charlie Braddock Midnight Caller (1989, TV series) as Sam Chase War and Remembrance (1989, TV Mini-Series) as Gen. Leslie Groves Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) as The "God" entity L.A. Law (1989, TV Series) as Sam Star Trek: The Next Generation (1990, TV Series) as Admiral J. P. Hanson Timescape (1992) as Judge Caldwell Final Analysis (1992) as Judge Costello Batman: The Animated Series (1992, TV Series) as Boss Biggis (voice) Law & Order (1992–1999, TV Series) as Judge Eric Bertram Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993, TV Series) as Burton Newcomb Firepower (1993) as Captain Croy Seinfeld (1994, TV Series) as Testikov Plughead Rewired: Circuitry Man II (1994) as Senator Riley Molly & Gina (1994) as Patrick Sweeny The Nanny (1995, TV Series) as Dakota Williams Tyson (1995, TV Movie) as Baranski The American President (1995) as Congressman Crosscut (1996) as Uncle Leo Chicago Hope (1996, TV Series) as Judge John Spencer ER (1996, TV Series) as Mr. Sidowski The Gregory Hines Show (1997, TV Series) as Samuel Lawrence Mike Hammer, Private Eye (1997, TV Series) as Cleve Baxter Scorpio One (1998) as CIA Director Wilfrid Parlow Early Edition (1998, TV Series) as Dutch Van Drie Anarchy TV (1998) as Chief Cochon Just Shoot Me! (1998, TV Series) as Sea Captain Phoenix (1998) as Sid The X-Files (1998–1999, TV Series) as Elder #2 / 2nd Elder The X-Files: Fight the Future (1998) as 2nd Elder The Adventures of Ragtime (1998) as Captain Murphy The Norm Show (1999, TV Series) as Probation Officer Family Tree (1999) as Big Wig Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming (1999, Short) as Dr. Salik Time Share (2000) as Cedric Templeton Judging Amy (2000–2002, TV Series) as Judge Norman Artel 2000x (NPR/Hollywood Theater of the Ear radio series) Smallville (2001, TV Series) as Old Harry Bollston Orange County (2002) as Bob Beugler The Dead Zone (2002, TV Series) as Arthur Allen Legend of the Phantom Rider (2002) as The Judge Spider's Web (2002) as Robert Harding Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003) as Acme VP, Unfairly Promoted Serial Killing 4 Dummys (2004) as Detective Ray Berro CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2005, TV Series) as Stuart Manslow One More Round (2005) as Mr. Mack Man in the Chair (2007) as Richard Butler Say It in Russian (2007) as Warden Eagleheart (2011, TV Series) as Fred Torchwood: Miracle Day (2011, TV Series) as Preacher Dispatch (2011) as Himself
References
External links
George Murdock at Memory Alpha, The Star Trek Wiki