Mike Connors

Krekor Ohanian (August 15, 1925 – January 26, 2017), known professionally as Mike Connors, was an American actor and film producer. He was best known for playing private detective Joe Mannix on the CBS television series Mannix from 1967 to 1975. This role earned him a Golden Globe Award in 1970, the first of six straight nominations, as well as four consecutive Primetime Emmy nominations from 1970 to 1973. He also starred in the short-lived series Tightrope! (1959–1960) and Today's FBI (1981–1982).

Connors's acting career spanned 56 years. In addition to his work on television, he appeared in numerous films, including Sudden Fear (1952), Good Neighbor Sam (1964), Situation Hopeless... But Not Serious (1965), Stagecoach (1966), Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die (1966) and Too Scared to Scream (1985), which he also produced.

Early life Connors was born Krekor Ohanian Jr. on August 15, 1925, in Fresno, California, to Armenian parents Krekor and Alice (née Surabian) Ohanian. His father had escaped the Armenian genocide. They married in 1915 and had six children: Paul I (died in childhood), Paul II, Dorothy M., Arpesri A., Krekor and Eugene. His father was an attorney and represented many Armenians who had little money and could not speak English. Connors spoke three languages: Armenian, English, and French. Connors was a cousin of French-Armenian singer Charles Aznavour.

Connors was an avid basketball player in high school, nicknamed "Touch" by his teammates. During World War II, he served as an enlisted man in the United States Army Air Forces. After the war, he attended the University of California at Los Angeles on both a basketball scholarship and the G.I. Bill, where he played under coach John Wooden. Connors went to law school, where he studied to become an attorney, taking after his father. He was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

After a basketball game, coach Wilbur Johns introduced Connors to his friend, director William A. Wellman, who liked Connors' voice and expressive face while he was playing basketball, and encouraged him to consider acting. He was considered for the role of Tarzan by casting director Ruth Burch, who found him an acting coach.

After Connors became an actor, his agent Henry Willson thought the name "Ohanian" was too similar to the actor George O'Hanlon and gave him the stage name "Touch Connors" based on his basketball nickname. Willson considered "Connors" to be a "good all-American name." Connors later stated he hated the name "from day one" and considered not using his real name the only big regret of his career. After getting the starring role in Tightrope!, Connors wanted to be credited as Ohanian, but Columbia Pictures told him that he had already done too much work as Connors, though he was allowed to change his first name to Mike.

Career

Early roles

Connors's film career started in the early 1950s, when he made his acting debut in a supporting role opposite Joan Crawford and Jack Palance in the thriller Sudden Fear (1952). He had initially been rejected for an audition by producer Joseph Kaufman due to his lack of experience, but after sneaking into Republic Pictures and meeting director David Miller, Connors was given a chance to read the script and was offered the part.

Connors was cast in the John Wayne film Island in the Sky, in which he played a crewman on one of the search-and-rescue planes. In 1956, he played an Amalekite herder in Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments.

Connors appeared in numerous television series, including the co-starring role in the 1955 episode "Tomas and the Widow" of the anthology series Frontier. He guest-starred on the early sitcoms Hey, Jeannie! and The People's Choice, and in two Rod Cameron syndicated crime dramas, City Detective and the Western-themed State Trooper, and played the villain in the first episode filmed (but second aired) of ABC's smash hit Maverick, opposite James Garner in 1957.

Connors had roles in several of the earliest films Roger Corman directed: Five Guns West (1955), The Day the World Ended (1955), Swamp Women (1956) and The Oklahoma Woman (1956). Connors starred in and was the executive producer of Flesh and the Spur (1956). He raised $117,000 for the film.

In 1958, Connors appeared in the title role of the episode "Simon Pitt", the series finale of the NBC Western Jefferson Drum, starring Jeff Richards as a frontier newspaper editor. He appeared in another NBC Western series, The Californians. That same year, Connors was cast as Miles Borden, a corrupt US Army lieutenant bitter over his $54 monthly pay on NBC's Wagon Train in the episode "The Dora Gray Story" with Linda Darnell in the title role. About this time, he also appeared on an episode of NBC's Western series Cimarron City.

Connors starred as an undercover police officer who infiltrated organized crime in Tightrope! (1959–1960). Despite the show's popularity, it was canceled after only one season. Connors stated in an interview that the show's primary sponsor, J.B. Williams, refused CBS president James Aubrey's request to move it to a later time slot on a different day. The sponsor dropped Tightrope! and underwrote another program on another network. Connors also did not agree with the suggested change to add a sidekick, to be played by Don Sullivan. He thought the program would lose the suspense element, "Because the whole premise was this guy, all by himself, 'on a tightrope.' ... When he gets a sidekick, it loses the threat and the danger, and the whole premise is in the toilet."

Later, he was cast in the episode "The Aerialist" of the anthology series, Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond. In 1963, he guest-starred as Jack Marson in the episode "Shadow of the Cougar" on the NBC modern Western series, Redigo, starring Richard Egan. Connors performed his own stunts on the series. During the filming of the pilot episode, he broke his wrist and dislocated his shoulder. The show was taken off the air due to a dispute between CBS and Paramount.

He later reprised the role of Joe Mannix in a 1997 episode of Diagnosis: Murder and in the 2003 comedy film Nobody Knows Anything!

Later career

He narrated J. Michael Hagopian's 1975 documentary film The Forgotten Genocide, one of the first full-length features on the Armenian genocide. The documentary was nominated for two Emmys. In 1995, Connors narrated another Armenian documentary by Hagopian, Ararat Beckons. However, the series was not picked up.

Connors had roles in the thriller films Avalanche Express (1979) and Nightkill (1980). He starred as a bureau veteran who mentors a team of agents in Today's FBI (1981–1982). The series only lasted one season. Through his daughter Dana, he had one granddaughter. He endorsed Ronald Reagan for President in 1980 and 1984 and endorsed George Deukmejian for Governor of California in 1982 and 1986.

Death Connors died in Tarzana, California, at age 91 on January 26, 2017, a week after being diagnosed with leukemia.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1952 Sudden Fear Junior Kearney 1953 The 49th Man Lt. Magrew Sky Commando Lt. Hobson Lee Island in the Sky Gainer 1954 Day of Triumph Andrew 1955 Five Guns West Hale Clinton The Twinkle in God's Eye Lou Day the World Ended Tony Lamont 1956 Jaguar Marty Lang Swamp Women Bob Matthews The Oklahoma Woman Tom Blake Flesh and the Spur Stacy Doggett Also executive producer The Ten Commandments Amalekite Herder Credited as 'Touch Connors' Shake, Rattle & Rock! Garry Nelson 1957 Voodoo Woman Ted Bronson 1958 Suicide Battalion Major Matt McCormack Live Fast, Die Young Rick 1960 The Dalton That Got Away Russ Dalton 1964 Panic Button Frank Pagano Good Neighbor Sam Howard Ebbets Where Love Has Gone Major Luke Miller 1965 Harlow Jack Harrison Situation Hopeless... But Not Serious Sgt. Lucky Finder 1966 Stagecoach Hatfield Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die Kelly 1979 Avalanche Express Haller 1980 Nightkill Wendell Atwell 1985 Too Scared to Scream Lt. Alex Dinardo Also producer 1989 Fist Fighter Billy Vance 1993 Public Enemy #2 Himself 1994 William Saroyan: The Man, the Writer Narrator (voice) Downtown Heat Steve 1997 James Dean: Race with Destiny Jack Warner 1998 Gideon Harland Greer 2000 The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave Grandpa Osborne Uncredited 2003 Nobody Knows Anything! Joe Mannix

Television Year Title Role Notes 1954 The Ford Television Theatre Christopher Ames Episode: "Yours for a Dream" Mr. & Mrs. North Mark Willard Episode: "Murder for Sale" 1955 City Detective Massey Episode: "Baby in the Basket" The Lineup Episode: "The Messenger Case" Frontier Tomas Episode: "Tomas and the Widow" Schlitz Playhouse of Stars Mel Dunlap / Lou Renaldi 2 episodes The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp Pat Smith Episode: "The Big Baby Contest" 1956 Have Camera Will Travel Larry Television film Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal Episode: "The Diana Story" The Millionaire Victor Volante Episode: "The Victor Volante Story" The Loretta Young Show Al Kiner Episode: "Now a Brief Word" The Adventures of Jim Bowie Rafe Bradford Episode: "Broomstick Wedding" Gunsmoke Bostick Episode: "The Mistake" (credited as Touch Connors) The People's Choice Bob Staples Episode: "Sock and the Law" 1956–59 State Trooper Jim Madison / Jim Herndon 2 episodes 1957 Hey, Jeannie! Lash Connor Episode: "Jeannie, the Westerner" Sheriff of Cochise Jess Stiles Episode: "Husband and Wife" Code 3 Bill Dalhart Episode: "The Water Skier" Lux Video Theatre Glen Kramer Episode: "The Latch Key" The Silent Service Don Melhop Episode: "The Ordeal of S-38" Those Whiting Girls Hotel Guest Episode: "The Trio" M Squad Pete Wikowlski Episode: "Pete Loves Mary" Have Gun – Will Travel Johnny Dart Episode: "The Bride" The Gale Storm Show Jerry Moss Episode: "Mardi Gras" Maverick Sheriff Barney Fillmore / Ralph Jordan 2 episodes The Walter Winchell File Dave Hopper Episode: "The Steep Hill" 1957–59 Whirlybirds Tom Grimaldi / Wally Otis 2 episodes 1958 Wagon Train Lt. Miles Borden Episode: "The Dora Gray Story" Telephone Time Cy Yedor Episode: "The Checkered Flag" Official Detective Martin Whiting Episode: "The Cover-Up" Studio 57 Patrolman Jeff Saunders / Hap Gordon 2 episodes Cheyenne Roy Simmons Episode: "Dead to Rights" Target Episode: "Death Makes a Phone Call" The Texan Larry Enright Episode: "The Edge of the Cliff" Cimarron City Bill Thatcher Episode: "Hired Hand" Rescue 8 Joe Starky Episode: "Find That Bomb!" Jefferson Drum Simon Pitt Episode: "Simon Pitt" Lawman Hal Daniels Episode: "Lady in Question" 1959 The Rough Riders Randall Garrett Episode: "Wilderness Trace" Bronco Hurd Elliott Episode: "School for Cowards" Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond Mario Patruzzio Episode: "The Aerialist" The Californians Charles Cora Episode: "The Bell Tolls" Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer Marty / Lou Torrey 2 episodes 1959–60 Tightrope! Nick Stone 37 episodes 1962 The Untouchables Eddie O'Gara Episode: "The Eddie O'Gara Story" The Expendables Mike Television film 1963 Redigo Jack Marston Episode: "Shadow of the Cougar" 1964 Perry Mason Joe Kelly Episode: "The Case of the Bullied Bowler" 1967–75 Mannix Joe Mannix 194 episodesGolden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama (1970)Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama (1971–1975)Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (1970–1973) 1968–70 The Red Skelton Show Various 3 episodes 1971 Here's Lucy Joe Mannix Episode: "Lucy and Mannix Are Held Hostage" 1973 Beg, Borrow, or Steal Vic Cummings Television film Bob Hope Special Joe Mannix Private Eyes spoof skit with Hope as "Cannon" 1976 The Killer Who Wouldn't Die Karl Ohanian Television film Charo Gen. George Washington Revenge For A Rape Travis Green 1977 Police Story Curtis 'Manny' Mandell Episode: "Stigma" 1978 Long Journey Back Vic Casella Television film 1979 The Death of Ocean View Park Sam Jackson High Midnight Capt. Lou Mikalich 1980 Casino Nick 1981–82 The Love Boat Mark Hayward / Sidney Sloan 4 episodes Today's FBI Ben Slater 18 episodes 1984 Earthlings Captain Jim Adams Television film, unsold pilot Glitter Episode: "Pilot" The Fall Guy Himself Episode: "Private Eyes" 1988–89 War and Remembrance Col. Harrison 'Hack' Peters 4 episodes 1989 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Robert Logan Episode: "Driving Under the Influence" 1989–95 Murder, She Wrote Boyce Brown / Walter Murray 3 episodes 1993 Armen and Bullik Joe 'Uncle Do Do' Armen Television film The Commish James Hayden Episode: "Scali, P.I." Hart to Hart Returns Bill McDowell Television film 1994 Burke's Law Jack Duncan Episode: "Who Killed the Anchorman?" 1997 Diagnosis: Murder Joe Mannix Episode: "Hard-Boiled Murder" 1998 Walker, Texas Ranger Judge Arthur McSpadden Episode: "Code of the West" 1998–99 Hercules Chipacles (voice) 10 episodes 2007 Two and a Half Men Hugo Episode: "Prostitutes and Gelato"

Awards and nominations Award Year Category Nominated work Result Golden Globe Awards 1970 Best Actor – Television Series Drama Mannix 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 Primetime Emmy Awards 1972 Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series 1970 1971 1973