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Michael Cole (actor)
Encyclopedia
Michael Cole is an American actor. His career includes a leading role as Pete Cochran on the television crime drama The Mod Squad
, which ran from 1968 to 1973.
.
Cole has also appeared on Gunsmoke
, in 1966, as Kip. During the '70s, he had many guest appearances on Wonder Woman
, The Love Boat
, CHiPs
, and so forth. In the 1980s and 1990s, he worked on a piece for HBO called Nickel Mountain. He also worked on shows such as Murder, She Wrote
, Fantasy Island
, and Diagnosis Murder
. Later, Cole appeared in Stephen King
's two-part made-for-TV movie It, which aired in 1990, as the older version of the disturbed Henry Bowers. In 1991, he joined the cast of ABC's General Hospital
in the role of Harlan Barrett.
But it was his role as Pete Cochran, a troubled youth turned crime fighter in The Mod Squad
(1968–1973), that made Cole an international celebrity. Cole's boyish good looks and brooding, deep-voiced personality meshed perfectly with his character's backstory--a ne'er-do-well son of wealthy parents who had evicted him from their home after he had stolen a car. Produced by Aaron Spelling
and Danny Thomas
, The Mod Squad
resonated with counterculture
-era viewers and ran for five seasons, during which a total of 123 episodes were produced.
According to TVGuide.com, Cole originally balked at the part of Peter Cochran when he realized he would be playing an undercover
cop
, saying, "I'm not going to take the part of a guy who finks on his friends!" He changed his mind, however, when he read the script and gathered the show's potential appeal.
Cole is also known for an embarrassing incident in 1973 which was broadcast live on Australian television during the annual TV Week
Logie awards. Stepping on stage to accept an award, Cole - described in subsequent news articles as either drunk or "in a tired and emotional
state" - gave a barely coherent "thank you" speech that ended with the actor saying, "Oh, shit." This was the first time this profanity had been heard on Australian television.
Cole went through treatment in the Betty Ford Clinic in the early 1990s to bring a drinking problem into remission.
Cole continues to act in various film and television projects, and played the character Charles Hadley in a 2006 episode of the NBC
television series ER
. Cole most recently made an appearance in the 2007 thriller Mr. Brooks as the attorney for Demi Moore
's character of Atwood.
The Mod Squad
The 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...
, which ran from 1968 to 1973.
Career
Cole has appeared in numerous films and TV shows, beginning in 1961 with a role in the film drama, Forbid Them Not. Other film credits include the role of Mark in the science fiction film, The Bubble, released in 1967 and later re-titled The Fantastic Invasion, as Alan Miller in The Last Child (1971), which was nominated for a Golden Globe, and as Cliff Norris in Beg, Borrow or Steal (1973). He did a great deal of stage work after The Mod Squad went off the air, such as Cat On A Hot Tin RoofCat on a Hot Tin Roof
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a play by Tennessee Williams. One of Williams's best-known works and his personal favorite, the play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1955...
.
Cole has also appeared on Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke 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....
, in 1966, as Kip. During the '70s, he had many guest appearances on Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
, The Love Boat
The Love Boat
The Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain...
, CHiPs
CHiPs
CHiPs is an American television drama series produced by MGM Studios that originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to July 17, 1983. CHiPs followed the lives of two motorcycle police officers of the California Highway Patrol...
, and so forth. In the 1980s and 1990s, he worked on a piece for HBO called Nickel Mountain. He also worked on shows such as Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series,...
, Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:...
, and Diagnosis Murder
Diagnosis Murder
Diagnosis: Murder is a mystery/medical/crime drama television series starring Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan, a medical doctor who solves crimes with the help of his son, a homicide detective played by his real-life son Barry Van Dyke. The series began as a spin-off of Jake and the Fatman...
. Later, Cole appeared in Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
's two-part made-for-TV movie It, which aired in 1990, as the older version of the disturbed Henry Bowers. In 1991, he joined the cast of ABC's General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
in the role of Harlan Barrett.
But it was his role as Pete Cochran, a troubled youth turned crime fighter in The Mod Squad
The Mod Squad
The 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...
(1968–1973), that made Cole an international celebrity. Cole's boyish good looks and brooding, deep-voiced personality meshed perfectly with his character's backstory--a ne'er-do-well son of wealthy parents who had evicted him from their home after he had stolen a car. Produced by Aaron Spelling
Aaron Spelling
Aaron Spelling was an American film and television producer. As of 2009, Spelling's eponymous production company Spelling Television holds the record as the most prolific television writer, with 218 producer and executive producer credits...
and Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas was an American nightclub comedian and television and film actor, best known for starring in the television sitcom Make Room for Daddy . He was also the founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...
, The Mod Squad
The Mod Squad
The 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...
resonated with counterculture
Counterculture
Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
-era viewers and ran for five seasons, during which a total of 123 episodes were produced.
According to TVGuide.com, Cole originally balked at the part of Peter Cochran when he realized he would be playing an undercover
Undercover
Being undercover is disguising one's own identity or using an assumed identity for the purposes of gaining the trust of an individual or organization to learn secret information or to gain the trust of targeted individuals in order to gain information or evidence...
cop
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
, saying, "I'm not going to take the part of a guy who finks on his friends!" He changed his mind, however, when he read the script and gathered the show's potential appeal.
Cole is also known for an embarrassing incident in 1973 which was broadcast live on Australian television during the annual TV Week
TV Week
TV Week is a weekly television magazine in Australia, first published as a Melbourne-only publication in December 1957 , and bearing a strong affiliation to television station GTV.The publication is still publishing weekly...
Logie awards. Stepping on stage to accept an award, Cole - described in subsequent news articles as either drunk or "in a tired and emotional
Tired and emotional
The phrase tired and emotional is a chiefly British euphemism for drunk. It was popularised by the British satirical magazine Private Eye in 1967 after being used in a spoof diplomatic memo to describe the state of Labour Cabinet minister George Brown, but is now used as a stock phrase...
state" - gave a barely coherent "thank you" speech that ended with the actor saying, "Oh, shit." This was the first time this profanity had been heard on Australian television.
Cole went through treatment in the Betty Ford Clinic in the early 1990s to bring a drinking problem into remission.
Cole continues to act in various film and television projects, and played the character Charles Hadley in a 2006 episode of the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television series ER
ER (TV series)
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
. Cole most recently made an appearance in the 2007 thriller Mr. Brooks as the attorney for Demi Moore
Demi Moore
Demi Guynes Kutcher , known professionally as Demi Moore, is an American actress. After minor roles in film and a role in the soap opera General Hospital, Moore established her career in films such as St...
's character of Atwood.