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Stuart Margolin, anEmmy award-winning character actor who co-starred inThe Rockford Files, has died. He was 82.
Margolindied of natural causesin Staunton, Virginia, family members confirmed on Instagram Monday.
Known for his role as con man Evelyn “Angel” Martin on the 1970s detective drama series, for which he won two Emmys, Margolin later featured in twoBlake Edwardsmovies, 1981’sS.O.B.and 1986’sA Fine Mess. He also became aprolific television director, reportedThe Hollywood Reporter.
Margolin’s connection toRockford FilesstarJames Garnerdated back to the early 1970s when the actor cast him inNicholsas a “sidekick who was a shifty-eyed, backstabbing rat, but also lovable,” Garner wrote in his 2011 memoir,The Garner Files.
“We’d made screen tests but couldn’t find what we were looking for until one day I saw a clip fromLove, American Style,” Garner wrote. “It wasn’t a scene that should have gotten a laugh, but the actor was so good, he broke me up. I knew he was the one for the part.”
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Margolin later said he “never regretted” his longtime collaboration with Garner.
“I was being sought after as a young character actor and comedian until I had a choice to be onThe Mary Tyler Moore Showor onNicholswith Jim Garner,” he said in an interview in 2017, perTHR. “I chose to work with Jim Garner because I thought I’d have more fun, which I never regretted.”
The actor, who was born in Iowa and later lived in Dallas, Texas, got his break in the industry after meeting Barney Brown — a mentor toDustin Hoffman,Gene HackmanandRobert Duvall— at a theater summer camp in Colorado, and later following Brown to California, according toTHR.
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His final credits include a star turn inWhat the Night Can Doafter leadMartin Sheensuffered an injury. Margolin’s stepson, Christopher Martini, directed the movie.
source: people.com
