----
Kevin Hagen (April 3, 1928, Chicago, Illinois – July 9, 2005) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor.
Born to professional ballroom dancers, Hagen was raised by his mother, grandmother, and aunts. He worked for the US State Department in
West GermanyWest Germany is a common English name for the period of the Federal Republic of Germany between its' formation in May 1949 to German reunification in October 1990, when the German Democratic Republic was dissolved and the five states on its territory joined the Federal Republic of Germany,...
(now a part of
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
), and spent a year in law school at UCLA after attending
Oregon State UniversityOregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are over 200 academic degree programs offered through the university...
and the
University of Southern CaliforniaThe University of Southern California is a private, nonsectarian, research university located in the University Park neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, USA...
before deciding to try acting at the age of 27.
----
Kevin Hagen (April 3, 1928, Chicago, Illinois – July 9, 2005) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor.
Born to professional ballroom dancers, Hagen was raised by his mother, grandmother, and aunts. He worked for the US State Department in
West GermanyWest Germany is a common English name for the period of the Federal Republic of Germany between its' formation in May 1949 to German reunification in October 1990, when the German Democratic Republic was dissolved and the five states on its territory joined the Federal Republic of Germany,...
(now a part of
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
), and spent a year in law school at UCLA after attending
Oregon State UniversityOregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are over 200 academic degree programs offered through the university...
and the
University of Southern CaliforniaThe University of Southern California is a private, nonsectarian, research university located in the University Park neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, USA...
before deciding to try acting at the age of 27. He was spotted in a production of
Eugene O'NeillEugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright, and Nobel laureate in Literature. His plays are among the first to introduce into American drama the techniques of realism, associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish playwright August...
's
Desire Under the Elms and given a guest role on the classic 1950s series
Dragnet. He began to work steadily in television and film.
His first regular role on a series was 1958's popular cult western
Yancy DerringerYancy Derringer is an American cult Western series that ran on CBS from 1958 to 1959, with Jock Mahoney in the title role. It was produced by Derringer Productions and filmed in Hollywood by Desilu Productions...
as city administrator of New Orleans, John Colton, circa 1868. As Colton, at the beginning of the episode, he asks Yancy to solve New Orleans present threat, and at the end of the episode arrests Yancy for breaking the law to do it.
Hagen also worked steadily as guest roles on countless series (
Bat MastersonBat Masterson is an American Western television series which showed a fictionalized account of the life of real-life marshal/gambler/dandy Bat Masterson. The title character was played by Gene Barry and the half-hour black and white shows ran on NBC from 1958 to 1961...
,
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...
,
Wagon TrainWagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957-1962 and then on ABC from 1962-1965...
,
Voyage to the Bottom of the SeaVoyage to the Bottom of the Sea is a science fiction film produced and directed by Irwin Allen, released in 1961 by 20th Century Fox. The story was written by Irwin Allen and Charles Bennett. Walter Pidgeon starred as Admiral Harriman Nelson, with Robert Sterling as Captain Lee Crane. The original...
,
The Twilight ZoneThe Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964 and remains syndicated to this day. The show consisted of unrelated vignettes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events, usually...
,
Have Gun Will Travel,
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....
,
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...
,
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...
,
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:...
,
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....
,
The Time TunnelThe Time Tunnel is a 1966–1967 U.S. color science fiction TV series. The show was created and produced by Irwin Allen, his third science fiction television series. The show's main theme music was Time Travel Adventure. The Time Tunnel was released by 20th Century Fox and broadcast on ABC. The show...
,
Perry MasonPerry Mason is an American TV series produced by Paisano Productions that ran from 1957 to 1966. Perry Mason was played by actor Raymond Burr. The title character is a fictional Los Angeles, California, defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner...
,
Land of the GiantsLand of the Giants was an hour-long American science fiction television program lasting two seasons beginning on September 22, 1968 and ending on March 22, 1970. The show was created and produced by Irwin Allen. Land of the Giants was the fourth of Allen's science fiction TV series. The show was...
,
Knots LandingKnots Landing is an American primetime television soap opera that was screened from December 27 1979 to May 13 1993 on CBS. Set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles in California, the show centered on the lives of four married couples living in a cul-de-sac, Seaview Circle...
, to name a few), often as the bully you love to see 'getting his come-uppance'.
But he considered his big break the role of a
ConfederateThe Confederate States of America was a separatist political entity existing between 1861 to 1865, established by eleven southern slave states of the United States of America, each of which had previously declared their secession from the United States...
soldier who kills
James StewartJames Maitland "Jimmy" Stewart was an American film and stage actor, best known for his self-effacing persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
's son, and daughter-in-law in the 1965 film
Shenandoah.
His most famous role was one of his nicer ones, as kindly Doc Baker on
Little House on the PrairieLittle House on the Prairie is an American one-hour dramatic television program, starring Michael Landon, about a family living on a farm in Minnesota in the 1870s and 1880s. The show was a loose adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s best-selling series of Little House on the Prairie books. It aired...
. He played the part from 1974-1983 and in a one-man show,
A Playful Dose of Prairie Wisdom.
In 1992, he moved to
Grants Pass, OregonGrants Pass is a city in, and the county seat of Josephine County, Oregon, United States . The city is located on Interstate 5, northwest of Medford. Attractions include the Rogue River, famous for its rafting, and the nearby Oregon Caves National Monument located south of the city...
and continued his acting career. In 2004 he was diagnosed with
esophageal cancerEsophageal cancer is malignancy of the esophagus. There are various subtypes, primarily squamous cell cancer and adenocarcinoma. Squamous cell cancer arises from the cells that line the upper part of the esophagus. Adenocarcinoma arises from glandular cells that are present at the junction of the...
. In the last year of his life, Hagen went to the
National Enquirer to claim that
Little House on the Prairie creator and star
Michael LandonMichael Landon was an American actor, writer, director, and producer, who starred in three popular NBC TV series that spanned three decades...
had not given the cast their fair share of money on residuals. In a follow up interview, Hagen thanked fans for their support and said some co-stars had contacted him to tell him they also felt they had been cheated out of money.
He was once married to actress Susanne Cramer until her death in 1969.
At his death, Hagen left a widow, Jan (his fourth wife; he met her in 1993), and a son, Kristopher.
External links