The Milwaukee police detective, who shared the same name with the lead character on the hit TV series Dragnet, was on the job for 32 years, and often endured the accident of his own name.
One of the hottest shows on TV during the '90s, the action-adventure series starred Lorenzo Lamas as a bounty hunter wrongfully accused of a murder he never committed.
The ex-con turned singer-songwriter was a protégé of Johnny Cash, and went on to work for him during the 1970s but was later fired for threatening one of Cash's band members. He died by suicide in 1978 at the age of 42.
Promoted as ABC's answer to NBC's Bonanza, the TV western series, headlined by Hollywood legend Barbara Stanwyck, launched the careers of Lee Majors and Linda Evans, who went to star in The Six Million Dollar Man and Dynasty, respectively.