Dennis Cross (December 17, 1924–April 6, 1991) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actorAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
who was the lead star of the
syndicatedIn broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows to multiple individual stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in countries where television is scheduled by networks with local affiliates, particularly in the United States...
television series
The Blue AngelsThe Blue Angels is a 1960-1961 syndicated television series about the Blue Angels of the United States Navy. The program starred Dennis Cross as Commander Arthur Richards, the head of a four-man squadron which tours the country to give flight exhibitions...
, fictional stories of daredevil
United States NavyThe United States Navy is the sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 283 ships in active service and more than...
pilotAn aviator is a person who flies aircraft for pleasure or as a profession. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887 as a variation of the French 'aviation', from the latin 'avis', coined 1863 by G. de la Landelle in "Aviation ou Navigation Aérienne"...
s which aired from 1960-1961. In addition, he appeared in many television
westernsThe Western is a fiction genre seen in film, television, radio, literature, painting and other visual arts. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the later half of the 19th century in what became the Western United States , but also in Western Canada, Mexico , Alaska The Western...
.
Cross was a native of
WhitefishWhitefish is a city in Flathead County, Montana, United States. The population was 5,032 at the 2000 census. It is home to a ski resort called Whitefish Mountain Resort. Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer hails from Whitefish....
, the seat of
Flathead CountyFlathead County is a county located in the U.S. state of Montana. As of 2006 the population was 85,314. Its county seat is Kalispell. The numerical designation for Flathead County is 7.-Geography:...
in northwestern
MontanaMontana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of the state contains numerous mountain ranges; other 'island' ranges are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
located northwest of the state capital of
HelenaHelena is the capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County. The population was 25,780 at the 2000 census, and had been estimated to rise to 29,351 by 2008. The local daily newspaper is the Independent Record. The local weekly newspaper is the Queen City...
in
Lewis and Clark CountyLewis and Clark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2000 Census, the population was 55,716. Its county seat is Helena. The numerical designation for Lewis and Clark County is 5. The county was established in 1865 as Edgerton County, and was renamed "Lewis and...
. At the age of seventeen, Cross joined the
United States Marine CorpsThe United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States armed forces responsible for providing force projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
and fought against
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese at the Battle of Guadalcanal.
Dennis Cross (December 17, 1924–April 6, 1991) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actorAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
who was the lead star of the
syndicatedIn broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows to multiple individual stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in countries where television is scheduled by networks with local affiliates, particularly in the United States...
television series
The Blue AngelsThe Blue Angels is a 1960-1961 syndicated television series about the Blue Angels of the United States Navy. The program starred Dennis Cross as Commander Arthur Richards, the head of a four-man squadron which tours the country to give flight exhibitions...
, fictional stories of daredevil
United States NavyThe United States Navy is the sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 283 ships in active service and more than...
pilotAn aviator is a person who flies aircraft for pleasure or as a profession. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887 as a variation of the French 'aviation', from the latin 'avis', coined 1863 by G. de la Landelle in "Aviation ou Navigation Aérienne"...
s which aired from 1960-1961. In addition, he appeared in many television
westernsThe Western is a fiction genre seen in film, television, radio, literature, painting and other visual arts. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the later half of the 19th century in what became the Western United States , but also in Western Canada, Mexico , Alaska The Western...
.
Early years, military, acting
Cross was a native of
WhitefishWhitefish is a city in Flathead County, Montana, United States. The population was 5,032 at the 2000 census. It is home to a ski resort called Whitefish Mountain Resort. Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer hails from Whitefish....
, the seat of
Flathead CountyFlathead County is a county located in the U.S. state of Montana. As of 2006 the population was 85,314. Its county seat is Kalispell. The numerical designation for Flathead County is 7.-Geography:...
in northwestern
MontanaMontana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of the state contains numerous mountain ranges; other 'island' ranges are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
located northwest of the state capital of
HelenaHelena is the capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County. The population was 25,780 at the 2000 census, and had been estimated to rise to 29,351 by 2008. The local daily newspaper is the Independent Record. The local weekly newspaper is the Queen City...
in
Lewis and Clark CountyLewis and Clark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2000 Census, the population was 55,716. Its county seat is Helena. The numerical designation for Lewis and Clark County is 5. The county was established in 1865 as Edgerton County, and was renamed "Lewis and...
. At the age of seventeen, Cross joined the
United States Marine CorpsThe United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States armed forces responsible for providing force projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
and fought against
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese at the Battle of Guadalcanal. He studied acting through the assistance of the
G.I. Bill of RightsThe G.I. Bill was an omnibus bill that provided college or vocational education for returning World War II veterans as well as one year of unemployment compensation. It also provided many different types of loans for returning veterans to buy homes and start businesses...
at the Actors Lab in Hollywood, located next to
Schwab's Drug StoreSchwab's Pharmacy was a drug store located at 8024 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California and has been widely noted as a meeting place and "headquarters" of movie actors and movie industry dealmakers from the 1930s through the 1950s...
, where several film stars were discovered.
In the early
1950sThe 1950s was the decade that ran from January 1, 1950, to December 31, 1959. During the early 1950s in the United States manufacturing and home construction was on the rise as the American economy was on the upswing. The Korean War and the beginning of the Cold War created a politically...
, Cross moved to
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
and appeared in several live television programs and taped
advertisingAdvertising is a form of communication used to influence individuals to purchase products or services or support political candidates or ideas. Frequently it communicates a message that includes the name of the product or service and how that product or service could potentially benefit the consumer...
spots. Cross's first acting role was at the age of twenty-seven as Cadet Rob in the 1952 episode "Constitution Island" of the
Hallmark Hall of FameHallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television. It has had a historically long run, beginning in 1951 and still continuing today. From 1954 onward, all of their productions have been shown in color, although color television productions were extremely rare in 1954...
, then on
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
.
He performed with
silent filmA silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially spoken dialogue. The idea of combining motion pictures with recorded sound is nearly as old as film itself, but because of the technical challenges involved, synchronized dialogue was only made practical in the late 1920s with...
star
Lillian GishLillian Diana Gish was an American stage, screen and television actress whose film acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912 to 1987. She was a prominent film star of the 1910s and 1920s, particularly associated with the films of director D.W. Griffith, including her leading role in Griffith's...
in the 1953 episode "A Trip to the Bountiful" of NBC's
Philco Television Playhouse. Having worked the night shift in a
factoryA factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where workers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
the day before the shooting of the program, Cross broke his finger, placed it in a splint, but still arrived for the filming. In the episode Cross is shown behind the cage of a bus ticket counter with his finger in the splint selling a ticket to Gish. This particular episode was placed in the archives of the
Museum of Modern ArtThe Museum of Modern Art is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, USA, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been singularly important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the...
in New York.
When Cross returned to California, he starred in 1957 as the
IndianNative Americans in the United States is the phrase that describes indigenous peoples from North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of...
Coacoochee in the film
Naked in the Sun, sometimes called
The Osceola Story, about Chief Osceola of the
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
Seminoles tribe. Three years later, he was cast to portray Commander Arthur Richards in thirty-three episodes of
The Blue Angels, including "Not for the Moment", "The Sticking Season", "Pacific Monteray Story", "Second Best", and "The Blue Leaders", with guest star
Ernest BorgnineErnest Borgnine is an American actor whose career spanned for over five decades. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the motion picture Marty. On television, he is known for playing the title character in the 1960s comedy series McHale's Navy. He earned an Emmy nomination at age 92 for his...
. The series co-stars included
Don GordonDon Gordon is an American film and television actor. He is sometimes billed as Donald Gordon.Gordon was born in Los Angeles, California, as Donald Walter Guadagno. His most notable films were where he appeared alongside his friend Steve McQueen in Bullitt, Papillon and The Towering Inferno...
and
Ross ElliottRoss Elliott was an American television and film character actor. He began his acting career with Orson Welles in Mercury Theatre, where he performed in Welles' famed radio program "The War of the Worlds"....
.
Western roles
From 1958-1962, Cross appeared in different roles in six episodes of
Chuck ConnorsChuck Connors was an American actor and a professional basketball and baseball player, best known for his starring role in the 1950s ABC hit western series The Rifleman.-Early life:...
's
The RiflemanThe Rifleman is an American Western television program that ran on ABC, from September 30, 1958 to April 8, 1963, a production of Four Star Television.-History:...
on
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. It first broadcast on television in 1948...
series. His
Rifleman roles were as Witcherly in "The Safe Guard", Ned Dunnell in "The Gaucho", Lafe Oberly as "The Patsy", Dorn in "The Hero", Fance Degnan in "The Vision", and Martin in "The Quiet Fear".
Cross guest starred thirteen times between 1956 and 1969 on CBS's
GunsmokeGunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
with
James ArnessJames Arness is an American actor best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke for 20 years. Arness has the distinction of having played the role of Marshal Matt Dillon in five separate decades: 1955 to 1975 in the weekly series, then in the decade of the 1980s Return to Dodge, and...
, including the role of the
Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States is the phrase that describes indigenous peoples from North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of...
Three Hand in the 1965 episode "Chief Joseph". Cross appeared five times on CBS's
RawhideRawhide is an American Western series that aired for eight seasons on the CBS network on Friday nights, from January 9, 1959 to January 4, 1966, with a total of 217 black-and-white episodes...
between 1959-1963 and five times as well on ABC's
The Big ValleyThe Big Valley is an American television Western which ran on ABC from September 15, 1965 to May 19, 1969, which starred Barbara Stanwyck, as a California widowed mother. It was created by A.I. Bezzerides and Louis F. Edelman. The producer was Levy-Gardner-Laven. Associate producer Lou Morheim...
between 1965 and 1967. He made three appearances in 1968 and 1969 on
Walter BrennanWalter Brennan was an American actor. Highly regarded as a film character actor, Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor three times...
's ABC series,
The Guns of Will SonnettThe Guns of Will Sonnett is a Western television series set in the 1870s which ran on the ABC television network from 1967 to 1969. The series was the first production collaboration between Aaron Spelling and Danny Thomas, who would later go on to produce one of ABC's most-memorable hits, The Mod...
in episodes "Pariah", "Join the Army", and "Robber's Roose". He also appeared three times on the syndicated
anthologyAn anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
series
Death Valley DaysDeath Valley Days is an American radio and television anthology about true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. It was created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman and ran on radio until 1945. It ran from 1952 to 1975 as a syndicated television series...
in episodes "Treasure of Elk Canyon" (1961), and "Captain Dick Mine" and "The Rider" (both 1965).
He appeared twice on
Fess ParkerFess Elisha Parker, Jr. is an American film and television actor best known for his 1950s portrayals of Davy Crockett for Walt Disney and of Daniel Boone in the late 1960s. He is also known as a wine maker and resort owner-operator....
's NBC series,
Daniel BooneDaniel Boone is an American action/adventure television series that aired from September 24, 1964 to September 10, 1970 on NBC for 165 episodes, and was made by 20th Century Fox Television. The title role was played by Fess Parker. Ed Ames co-starred as Mingo, Boone's American Indian friend, for...
, including the role of Chief Red Hand in the 1966 episode "Gun-Barrel Highway". Cross appeared twice too in the 1959-1960 ABC series
Black SaddleBlack Saddle is an American Western series that ran for forty-four episodes on NBC from January 10, 1959 to May 6, 1960. The series was produced by Dick Powell's Four Star Television, and the original pilot was an episode of Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater, with Chris Alcaide playing Culhane.For...
starring
Peter BreckPeter Breck is an American actor who has played roles on television and in film.-Roles and career:...
. In 1958, he appeared twice on
Richard BooneRichard Allen Boone was an American actor who starred in over 50 films and was notable for his roles in Westerns. He was best known as the star of the TV series Have Gun – Will Travel.-Early life:...
's CBS series,
Have Gun - Will Travel, in the episodes "Hey Boy's Revenge" and "Twenty-Four Hours at North Fork". Cross guest starred twice on both
Dick Powell's Zane Grey TheaterDick Powell's Zane Grey Theater, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theater, is a Western anthology series which ran on CBS from 1956-1961.-Six spinoff series:...
and
Henry FondaHenry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor, best known for his roles as plain-speaking idealists. Fonda's subtle, naturalistic acting style preceded by many years the popularization of method acting....
's
The DeputyThe Deputy is a 1959-1961 half-hour NBC western series featuring Henry Fonda as Marshal Simon Fry of the Arizona Territory and Allen Case as Deputy Clay McCord.-Production:...
. He appeared once on each of the
Dale RobertsonDale Robertson is an American actor best known for his starring roles on television.-Biography:Dayle Lamoine Robertson was born in Harrah near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He began his acting career by chance during World War II, when he was in the United States Army...
western,
Tales of Wells FargoTales of Wells Fargo is an American Western television series that ran from March 18, 1957 to June 2, 1962 on NBC. Produced by Revue Productions, the series aired in a half-hour format until its final season when it expanded to an hour.-Synopsis:...
("Man for the Job" as Lambert) and
The Iron Horse ("Town Full of Fear" as Jim Vail).
He made single appearances on
Jefferson DrumJefferson Drum is an American Western television series starring Jeff Richards and Eugene Martin on the NBC network that aired from April 25 to December 11, 1958.-Overview:...
,
Sheriff of CochiseSheriff of Cochise , renamed U.S. Marshal , is a 58-episode syndicated western-themed crime drama set in Arizona and starring John Bromfield as law enforcement officer Frank Morgan. In the initial season, Morgan was sheriff of Cochise County...
,
The Gray GhostThe Gray Ghost is a black and white Western series which aired in syndication from October 10, 1957, to July 3, 1958. It depicts the true story of Major John Singleton Mosby, an Virginia officer in the Confederate Army, whose cunning and stealth earned him the nickname "Gray Ghost".-Synopsis:The...
,
The TexanThe Texan is a Western television series starring popular B movie star Rory Calhoun . It aired on the CBS television network from 1958-1960.-Production notes:...
,
Wanted: Dead or Alive,
Man Without a GunMan Without a Gun is a western television series produced by 20th Century Fox television and presented in first-run syndication in the United States from 1957 to 1959...
,
Hotel de PareeHotel de Paree was a Western television series that aired on the CBS television network from October 2 1959 until June 3 1960.The show starred Earl Holliman as Sundance, a gunfighter just released from prison who ends up in the town of Georgetown, Colorado. In the series' first episode, Sundance...
,
Two Faces WestTwo Faces West is a 39-episode half-hour syndicated television western series set in Gunnison in southwestern Colorado, which aired from October 17, 1960, to July 31, 1961. It stars Scottish native Charles Bateman in the dual roles of twin brothers, Rick January, M.D., and Marshal Ben January...
,
The VirginianThe Virginian is a western-themed television series which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. It was the first western to air in 90-minute installments each week...
,
BrandedBranded is a Western series which aired on NBC from 1965 through 1966 and starred Chuck Connors as Jason McCord, a United States Army Cavalry captain who had been drummed out of the service following an unjust accusation of cowardice.-Production:...
,
The Legend of Jesse JamesThe Legend of Jesse James is a 34-episode western television series starring Christopher Jones in the tile role of notorious outlaw Jesse James which aired on ABC from September 13, 1965, to May 9, 1966...
(in episode "The Pursuers" as Meager),
BonanzaBonanza is an American television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons, it is among the longest running Western television series and continues to air in syndication....
,
Cimarron StripCimarron Strip is an American Western television series that aired on CBS from September 1967 to March 1968. Starring Stuart Whitman as Marshal Jim Crown, the series was produced by the creators of Gunsmoke....
,
The High ChaparralThe High Chaparral is a Western-themed television series which aired on NBC from 1967 to 1971. The show was created by David Dortort, who had previously created the hit Bonanza for the network...
,
Wichita TownWichita Town is a half-hour western television series starring Joel McCrea, Jody McCrea, Carlos Romero, and George Neise that aired on NBC from September 30, 1959, until April 6, 1960....
,
Robert CulpRobert Martin Culp is an American actor and scriptwriter, perhaps best known for his work in television. Culp earned an international reputation for his role as Kelly Robinson on I Spy , the espionage series, where he and co-star Bill Cosby played a pair of secret agents and for playing Ray...
's
TrackdownTrackdown is an American Western television series that aired on CBS. The series ran over 70 episodes, was produced by Dick Powell's Four Star Television and filmed at the Desilu-Culver Studio...
, and
Don MurrayDon Murray may refer to:*Don Murray , jazz musician*Don Murray *Don Murray , Pulitzer Prize winning writer for the Boston Herald*Don Murray , of the group The Turtles...
's
The OutcastsThe Outcasts is a short-lived Western television series, appearing on ABC in the 1968-69 season. The series co-starred Don Murray and Otis Young, and is probably most notable for being the first television Western with an African-American co-star and the first bi-racial Western action...
.
Other roles
Cross appeared also in drama programs, including twice as Reicher in episodes "The Golden Carpet" and "The Middle Man" of ABC's 1961-1962 crime drama
Target: The Corruptors!Target: The Corruptors! is a 35-episode crime drama starring Stephen McNally as newspaper reporter Paul Marino, which aired on ABC from September 29, 1961 to June 8, 1962. The character Jack Flood, Marino's undercover agent, was portrayed by Robert Harland...
. He guest starred on the anthology program,
The Dick Powell ShowThe Dick Powell Show is a television anthology series that ran on NBC from 1961- 1963, primarily sponsored by the Reynolds Metals Company. It was hosted by longtime film star Dick Powell until his death from lymphatic cancer in January 1963, then by a series of guest hosts until the series...
, the
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
series
The Gallant MenThe Gallant Men was a 1962-1963 ABC television series which depicted an infantry company of American soldiers fighting their way through Italy in World War II.-Description:...
,
Keenan WynnKeenan Wynn was an American character actor and member of a well-known show-business family. His bristling mustache and expressive face were his stock in trade as an actor.-Early life and career:...
's
The TroubleshootersThe Troubleshooters is a 26-segment half-hour adventure series starring Keenan Wynn as Kodiak and Bob Mathias as Frank Dugan, which aired new episodes on NBC Television from September 11, 1959, to April 10, 1960. Based on unusual events at international construction sites, the program was...
,
David JanssenDavid Janssen was an American film and television actor who is best known for his starring role as Dr. Richard Kimble in the television series The Fugitive .- Early life :...
's
The FugitiveThe Fugitive is an American television series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen starred as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the...
,
Mike ConnorsMike Connors is an American actor best known for playing detective Joe Mannix in the long-running CBS television series, Mannix...
's
TightropeTightrope was a 1959 half hour weekly CBS American television series produced by Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene in cooperation with Screen Gems. It starred Mike Connors as a police undercover agent called "Nick" who was assigned to infiltrate criminal gangs...
,
Playhouse 90Playhouse 90 is a 90-minute dramatic television anthology series, telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1961 for a total of 133 episodes. Since live anthology drama series of the mid-1950s were hour-long shows, the title highlighted the network's intention to present something unusual, a weekly series of...
, Robert Wagner's
It Take a Thief, and
The F.B.I.. He also appeared in comedy, including Walter Brennan
The Real McCoysThe Real McCoys is a television situation comedy, co-produced by Danny Thomas' "Marterto Productions", in association with Walter Brennan and Irving Pincus' "Westgate" company. The program aired on the ABC network from 1957 through 1962. It aired for one more season on CBS before its end in 1963...
,
The MunstersThe Munsters is a 1960s American television sitcom depicting the home life of a family of monsters. The show was a satire of both traditional monster movies and popular family entertainment of the era, such as Leave It to Beaver. It ran concurrently with the The Addams Family. Although the...
,
Family AffairFamily Affair is a situation comedy television series that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966 to September 9, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do civil engineer and bachelor Bill Davis as he attempted to raise his brother's orphaned children in his luxury New York City apartment....
,
Ensign O'TooleEnsign O'Toole is a military comedy that aired on NBC from September 23, 1962, to May 5, 1963, with 31-year-old Dean Jones in the title role of a nonchalant Navy ensign during the early 1960s. Jones, born in 1931 in Alabama and a Navy veteran of the Korean War, played an officer aboard the...
,
Get SmartGet Smart is an American television comedy series that satirized the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams as Maxwell Smart, Agent 86, Barbara Feldon as Agent 99, and Edward Platt as Thaddeus, the chief of CONTROL, a secret American government...
, and
The Bill Cosby ShowThe Bill Cosby Show is an American situation comedy that aired for two seasons on NBC's Sunday night schedule from 1969 until 1971, under the sponsorship of Procter & Gamble. There were 52 episodes made in the series. It marked Cosby's first solo foray in television, after his co-starring role in I...
.
Cross's later roles included two appearances as a
sheriffA sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
on ABC's
The Mod SquadThe Mod Squad is a television series that ran on ABC from September 24, 1968 until August 23, 1973. This series starred Michael Cole, Peggy Lipton, Clarence Williams III and Tige Andrews. The executive producers of the series were Aaron Spelling and Danny Thomas.-Plot:The Mod Squad was a police...
(1969-1970) and twice on CBS's
Mission: ImpossibleMission: Impossible is an American television series which was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicled the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force...
in episodes "Mindbend" (1971) and "Underground" as Arnold Lutz (1972). His last acting role was as a man in the congregation on CBS's
The WaltonsThe Waltons is an American television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 film of the same name, starring Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara. The show centered on the titular family growing up in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and...
in the 1976 episode "The Cloudburst".
Cross appeared in a few films:
The Brass Legend (1956) with
Hugh O'BrianHugh O'Brian is an American actor best known for his starring role as Wyatt Earp in the ABC television series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp .-Early years and career:...
and
Raymond BurrRaymond William Stacey Burr was a Canadian actor, primarily known for his roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside and his lead role as Steve Martin in Godzilla, King of the Monsters and Godzilla 1985.-Early life:He was born Raymond William Stacey Burr in New Westminster, British...
,
Crime of Passion (1957),
The Over-the-Hill GangThe Over-the-Hill Gang is a 1969 TV-movie Western comedy about aging Texas Rangers starring Walter Brennan and Pat O'Brien. Chill Wills, Edgar Buchanan, Andy Devine, and Jack Elam play supporting roles...
(1969) with Walter Brennan,
80 Steps to Jonah (1969), and
The Bounty Man (1972), a
television movieA television movie is a feature film that is produced for and originally distributed by a...
.
Cross's son,
Randy CrossRandall "Randy" Laureat Cross is a football analyst and former NFL offensive lineman.-High school years:...
, born in New York City in 1954, is a former professional
footballFootball is the name of several similar team sports, all of which involve kicking a ball with the foot in an attempt to score a goal. The most popular of these sports worldwide is association football, more commonly known as just "football" or "soccer"...
player and sports
broadcasterA presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
. The Crosses were living in Encino, California, in the 1970s, when he retired from acting and became a vice president of the Doctors
InsuranceInsurance, in law and economics, is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for a premium, and can be thought of as a guaranteed and known...
Company in
Santa MonicaSanta Monica is a city in western Los Angeles County, California, USA. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and Venice on the...
. He died in Los Angeles at the age of sixty-six.