Stuart Margolin, the character actor fondly remembered as slippery Angel on 37 episodes of The Rockford Files, died Monday at 82.
His death was confirmed by his stepson.
Born January 31, 1940, Margolin's career touched on the fields of stage, film and TV after growing up in Davenport, Iowa; Dallas; Tennessee; and Scottsdale, Arizona.
Margolin made his debut on three episodes of the long-forgotten Gertrude Berg Show in 1961 and 1962, on his way to more than 100 credits, most on TV. He appeared on such shows as The Fugitive (1964), The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1965), Bewitched (1968), That Girl (1968-1969), The Partridge Family (1970-1972), Mary Tyler Moore (1973), Matlock (1992), 30 Rock (2009) and NCIS (2014).
He was also a recurring player on Love, American Style (1969-1973) for 29 episodes.
But it was his performance as Angel on The Rockford Files (1974-1979) that brought him two Emmys — making him one of just five actors to have won in his category twice for playing the same character.
He reprised the popular role in seven made-for-TV movies from 1994-1999.
Margolin's biggest film splash came as Aimes Jaimchill in the unexpected hit Death Wish (1974) — he was the guy who handed Charles Bronson's (1921-2003) character a gun.
Other film work included his debut, Women of the Prehistoric Planet (1966), as well as Don't Just Stand There (1968), Kelly's Heroes (1970), Limbo (1972), The Stone Killer (1973), The Gambler (1974), Futureworld (1976), The Big Bus (1976), S.O.B. (1982), Class (1983), Running Hot (1984), A Fine Mess (1986), Iron Eagle II (1988), Guilty by Suspicion (1991),
He later directed extensively on TV, and was a noted songwriter.
Margolin is survived by his third wife, Pat, and his three stepchildren, including actor Max Martini and costumer designer Michelle Martini.
