Gerald S. O'Loughlin

Gerald Stuart O'Loughlin Jr. (December 23, 1921 – July 31, 2015) was an American television, stage, and film actor and director who was primarily known for playing tough-talking and rough-looking characters. He is best known for Ed Ryker on The Rookies (1972–1976).

Overview After a stint with the United States Marine Corps, O'Loughlin used his GI Bill of Rights benefits to train at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City. Continuing to hone his skills at the Actors Studio, he would land a handful of TV and/or film roles throughout the 1950s.

Early years O'Loughlin was a native of New York City. Before becoming an actor, he earned a college degree in mechanical engineering.

Television It was during the 1960s and 1970s, however, that O'Loughlin would become virtually ubiquitous on TV, his workload decreasing only slightly during the century's final two decades. One of his early guest-starring roles was on "A Man for Mary" episode of ABC's 1962 comedy-drama Going My Way.

He appeared in "Twenty Miles from Dodge", a 1965 episode of Gunsmoke. O'Loughlin played a tough but not insensitive gang leader of stagecoach robbers holding the passengers as hostages for ransom. Among them was Miss Kitty (Amanda Blake), who comforts the freezing and hungry while battling the desperadoes, and a feisty, crafty fellow passenger played by Darren McGavin. Years later, O'Loughlin reunited with Gunsmoke lead actor James Arness in the made-for-TV film McClain's Law, structured as the pilot for Arness' 1981–82 police detective series. He also appeared on Quincy as Adam Beale, chief of a hijack containment unit, working to take down terrorists hijacking a plane with a fatal virus on board.

Cast photo of The Rookies. Clockwise from the top: Georg Stanford Brown (Terry Webster), Kate Jackson (Jill Danko), Gerald S. O'Loughlin (Eddie Ryker), Bruce Fairbairn (Chris Owens) and Sam Melville (Mike Danko) in 1975

O'Loughlin appeared in an episode of the 1961 television series The Asphalt Jungle. In 1966 he portrayed truck driver Carl Munger (S2:Ep7) and in 1972 he portrayed a robber named Kulhane (S7:Ep21) in the TV series The F.B.I.

He appeared in three episodes of Hawaii Five-O. The first was aired January 29, 1969 in the episode "The Box". O'Loughlin played the central figure of a group of prison inmates who take Hawaii Five-O chief Steve McGarrett (Jack Lord) hostage. The second was called "Six Kilos" and was broadcast on March 12, 1969 (playing the same character as in "The Box"), and the third (September 16, 1970) was called "A Time to Die". He also appeared on Cannon on February 22, 1972, in the episode "Flight of the Hawks", and on episode 16 of the TV show The Green Hornet. In Season 2 Episode 22 of Mission: Impossible, he played a killer for hire.

In 1970–1971, O'Loughlin portrayed Devin McNeil in the CBS crime drama Storefront Lawyers (which was later revised and retitled and became Men at Law).

From 1972 to 1976 O'Loughlin appeared as Lt. Ed Ryker on The Rookies. In 1978, he appeared in the pilot episode of The Eddie Capra Mysteries, and had roles in TV miniseries such as Wheels (1978), Women in White (1979), Roots: The Next Generations (1979) and Blind Ambition (1979). He also appeared as Sgt. O'Toole in the 1983 made-for-TV miniseries The Blue and the Gray. Also in 1983, he appeared as Gen. Schwerin, hoping to meet Marilyn Monroe, in the M*A*S*H episode "Bombshells". He was also a regular on the series Automan (1983) and Our House (1986). Also in 1986, O'Loughlin played the part of Mr. Parks in a first season episode of Highway to Heaven entitled "The Brightest Star".

In 1988, he played Tom Callahan in Dirty Dancing. In 1992 he appeared as Ben Oliver in Murder She Wrote in the episode "Badge of Honor".

Stage O'Loughlin's professional acting career began in repertory work at Crystal Lake Theatre in upstate New York.

Film O'Loughlin's movie credits include Ensign Pulver, In Cold Blood, Ice Station Zebra, The Valachi Papers and Twilight's Last Gleaming.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes1956 Lovers and Lollipops Larry 1957 A Hatful of Rain Church 1958 Cop Hater Detective Mike Maguire 1964 Ensign Pulver LaSueur 1966 A Fine Madness Chester Quirk – Policeman 1966 A Man Called Adam Red – the Sheriff 1967 In Cold Blood Harold Nye 1968 Ice Station Zebra Lt. Cdr. Bob Raeburn 1969 Riot Grossman 1970 The Virginian Lute Dormer Sr season 8 episode 18 ("Train of Darkness") 1971 Desperate Characters Charlie 1971 The Organization Jack Pecora 1972 The Valachi Papers Ryan 1972 Room 222 Sid LeRoi season 3 episode 22 ("The Quitter") 1977 Twilight's Last Gleaming Brig. Gen. O'Rourke 1977 Murder at the World Series Moe Gold 1978 The Eddie Capra Mysteries Ed Schroder Pilot: "Nightmare at Pendragon Castle1978 Crash Larry Cross 1981 McClain's LawSid Lammonmade-for-TV film1982 Frances Lobotomy Doctor 1983 Automan Capt. E. G. Boyd 1984 Crimes of Passion Ben 1984 City Heat Counterman Louie 1986 Quicksilver Mr. Casey 1986 Our House Joe Kaplan 1998 The Secret Kingdom Chartwell 2000 3 Strikes Judge