Kevin Dobson

Born

March 18, 1943

Died

September 6, 2020 (77 years old)

Known For

Acting

Place of Birth

New York City, New York, USA

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.

Beast of the Bering Sea

Beast of the Bering Sea

Glenn Hunter

4.0

2013

Dark Power

Dark Power

Mayor Stan Wood

4.0

2013

Anger Management

Anger Management

Dr. Cameron · (1 episode)

6.2

2012

Hawaii Five-0

Hawaii Five-0

Al Shepard · (1 episode)

7.8

2010

Portal

Benedict

3.2

2009

Christmas at Cadillac Jack's

Christmas at Cadillac Jack's

Cop

10.0

2007

1408

1408

Priest

6.7

2007

Crash Landing

Crash Landing

Henderson Davis

4.7

2006

Cold Case

Cold Case

Mickey Thompson (2008) · (1 episode)

7.8

2003

She's No Angel

She's No Angel

Donald Shawnessy

3.9

2002

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

Malcolm Turner · (1 episode)

7.6

2000

Restraining Order

Restraining Order

Police Captain

2.8

1999

Mom, Can I Keep Her?

Mom, Can I Keep Her?

Dr. Joel Blair

4.0

1998

Nobody Lives Forever

Nobody Lives Forever

Lt. Jim Ransom

9.0

1998

Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac

Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac

M. Patrick McKenzie · (2 episodes)

9.0

1997

Early Edition

Early Edition

Darrel Foster · (1 episode)

7.3

1996

FX: The Series

FX: The Series

Detective Leo McCarthy · (23 episodes)

6.2

1996

FX - Final Illusion

FX - Final Illusion

Leo McCarthy (archive footage)

0.0

1996

Nash Bridges

Nash Bridges

Raymond Porter · (1 episode)

6.7

1996

Voice from the Grave

Voice from the Grave

Detective Joe Sraccula

5.8

1996

If Someone Had Known

If Someone Had Known

Jack Liner

7.1

1995

Touched by an Angel

Touched by an Angel

Coach Earl Rowley · (1 episode)

7.2

1994

Burke's Law

Burke's Law

Sheriff Greene · (1 episode)

6.7

1994

The Conviction of Kitty Dodds

The Conviction of Kitty Dodds

Chuck Hayes

0.0

1993

A House of Secrets and Lies

Jack Evans

1.0

1992

Dirty Work

Dirty Work

Tommy Miller

0.0

1992

Fatal Friendship

Fatal Friendship

Michael Bradley

0.0

1991

The Commish

The Commish

(1 episode)

7.1

1991

Casey's Gift: For Love of a Child

Casey's Gift: For Love of a Child

Hank Bolen

5.1

1990

Kojak: It's Always Something

Kojak: It's Always Something

Assistant D.A. Bobby Crocker

6.0

1990

Money, Power, Murder.

Money, Power, Murder.

Peter Finley

3.8

1989

Sweet Revenge

Sweet Revenge

Col. Joseph Cheever

6.0

1984

Margin for Murder

Margin for Murder

Mike Hammer

5.5

1981

All Night Long

All Night Long

Bobby Gibbons

5.2

1981

Mark, I Love You

Mark, I Love You

Hal Painter

0.0

1980

Reunion

Reunion

Don Hollander

0.0

1980

Hardhat & Legs

Hardhat & Legs

Sal Pacheco

4.5

1980

Knots Landing

Knots Landing

M. Patrick MacKenzie · (291 episodes)

6.9

1979

Transplant

Transplant

John Hurley

0.0

1979

Tales of the Unexpected

Tales of the Unexpected

Fred Pearson · (1 episode)

6.7

1979

The Immigrants

The Immigrants

Pete Lomas

2.0

1978

Battle of the Network Stars

Battle of the Network Stars

(1 episode)

7.2

1976

Midway

Midway

Ensign George Gay

6.6

1976

Dinah!

Dinah!

Self · (1 episode)

6.7

1974

Kojak

Kojak

Bobby Crocker · (118 episodes)

7.0

1973

Emergency!

Emergency!

1st Deputy · (1 episode)

7.8

1972

Cannon

Cannon

(1 episode)

6.5

1971

Klute

Klute

Man at Bar (uncredited)

6.8

1971

The Mod Squad

The Mod Squad

Howie · (1 episode)

6.3

1968

Ironside

Ironside

Young Marine · (1 episode)

6.8

1967

The Mike Douglas Show

The Mike Douglas Show

Self · (4 episodes)

5.4

1961

The Mike Douglas Show

The Mike Douglas Show

Self - Co-Host · (1 episode)

5.4

1961