What happened to Stuart Margolin? Is he dead or alive? Wiki

Who is Stuart Margolin?

The veteran actor achieved fame with the role of Angel Martin in the television series “The Rockford Files” (1974-1979), which was later turned into movie series “The Rockford Files” (1994-1999), in addition to many other popular roles that cemented his place among all-time greats. In addition to acting, Stuart is also an accomplished director, writer, and musician.

What Happened to Stuart Margolin? Is He Dead or Alive?

Stuart has recently turned 80 years of age, and despite the age, he is still active. Though only sporadically appearing in projects, his latest appearance was as Hugh Dryer, the lead character in the film “What the Night Can Do” in 2020. So, he is certainly alive and well, and is still working on his prosperous career, that’s lasted 60 years.

Stuart Margolin Wiki- Age, Childhood, and Education

Stuart Margolin was born on the 31st January 1940, in Davenport, Iowa USA; the names of his parents aren’t available, but we know that he has an older brother, Arnold Margolin, who is also involved in show business, but as a screenwriter, director, and television producer. His famous works include as executive producer of “Love, American Style”, among other contributions. He was a troubling teenager, having been kicked out of school and even ended up at juvenile court. Stuart attended the Professional Children’s School in Greenwich Village, where he lived with his older brother. However, he eventually matriculated from Scottsdale High School.

Interested in acting, he featured in the theater during high school, but didn’t take-up acting lessons until he finished high school. At first he went into the real estate business, but with the help of Barney Brown, an acting teacher, and director at the Pasadena Playhouse, Stuart eventually moved to California and pursued an acting career.

Career Beginnings

With only a few appearances in local theater plays, Stuart then pursued an acting career on the screen; his first role came in 1961 when he was selected for the part of Lester Wexler in the TV series “The Gertrude Berg Show”, appearing in three episodes from 1961 to 1962.

His next project was the role of Lt. Miller in the TV series “Ensign O’Toole” in 1962, and throughout the ‘60s, Stuart had minor roles in several TV series, earning a name for himself by appearing in such projects as “12 O’Clock High”, “The Fugitive”, and “The F.B.I”, before appearing in the TV series “Love, American Style” from 1969 until 1973. Concurrently he had the part of Deputy Mitch Mitchell in the TV series “Nichols”, appearing in 24 episodes from 1971 to 1972, while in 1973 he portrayed Lawrence in the film “The Stone Killer”.

Rise to Prominence

Stuart was gradually becoming more popular, and his other work such as directing only contributed to his popularity.

This resulted in the role of Angel Martin, the shifty friend and former jail-mate of Jim Rockford – played by James Garner – in the series “The Rockford Files”. Although a recurring character, it highly influenced his career, and through 1979 he appeared in 37 episodes of the Golden Globe Award-nominated crime-drama series, winning two Primetime Emmy Awards in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama series. The role made him extremely popular, and he continued his career with more success. Focused more on television, Stuart had a few notable film appearances in the ‘70s, such as the role of Blind Pete in the western “This Is the West That Was” (1974), then as Harry in the sci-fi thriller film “Futureworld” (1976), and as Mill Foreman in the Academy award-winning romantic drama film “Days of Heaven” in 1978, starring Richard Gere, Brooke Adams and Sam Shepard.

The 1980s brought new popular roles for Stuart, raising his stature – he co-starred in the comedy-drama film “S.O.B” with Julie Andrews, William Holden and Marisa Berenson, and played Philo Sandeen in the TV series “Maverick” from 1981 to 1982. As the decade progressed, Stuart made more film appearances, almost always in supporting roles. He was Officer Trent in the crime-drama film “Running Hot” in 1984, and Herman Sinclair in the comedy crime-drama film “The Glitter Dome”. Four years later, Stuart co-starred in the action film “Iron Eagle II”, next to Louis Gossett Jr. and Mark Humphrey, while before the decade ended he had a minor role in the romantic drama film “By Bye Blues”.

The Return of Angel Martin, and Other Projects

The ‘90s started the same way as the ‘80s ended, successfully; he was cast as Bob in the mystery thriller film “Deep Sleep”, starring next to Megan Follows and Patricia Collins. Two years later he had another starring role, this time it was the thriller “Impolite”, in which he shared screen time with Robert Wisden and Kevin McNulty. Two years later, Stuart returned to the small screen as Angel Martin in the string of television movies about Jim Rockford and Martin. The first installment was entitled “I Still Love L.A”, followed by seven sequels through 1999. In addition, Stuart worked on several other roles; he played John in the television movie “Justice on Wheels: The Diana Kilmury Story” in 1996, and also appeared in the comedy-drama film “The Lay of the Land” in 1997, and finished the decade with the role of Clyde Johnson in the film “The Hi-Line.

So unexpected, but so great, to see Stuart Margolin from THE ROCKFORD FILES on last week’s X-FILES. Brought a smile to my face, #XFiles #RockfordFiles #JamesGarner pic.twitter.com/VJjXyLglQF

— Bionic_Tweets (@Bionic_Tweets) January 29, 2018

The 2000s

Stuart was focused full time on acting until the mid-2000s, adding a number of popular roles to his portfolio. He was Miles Rankin in the TV series “These Arms of Mine” (2000-2001), and played Jack Welsh from 2002 to 2004 in the TV action-thriller series “Tom Stone”. However, since then Stuart has only appeared sporadically in a few TV series and films, but without major success, except for the lead role in the film “The Second Time Around” in 2016.

Directing and Writing

Stuart is an accomplished director too; his directing debut happened in 1973 when he was behind the camera for an episode of the TV series “Love, American Style”, continuing his directing career by working on TV series, including “The Rockford Files” and “The Love Boat”.

In 1990 he directed the complete mini-series “Bride of Violence”, while in 1996 he again worked on “The Rockford Files”, this time directing one of the television movies. Other credits include the TV series “Promised Land” (1997-1999), “Touched by an Angel” (1997-2002), and “Intelligence” (2006-2007), among others.

Stuart is a writer as well, and his first creation was the television movie “The Ballad of Andy Crocker” (1969). Ten years later, he wrote the screenplay for the comedy-crime film “A Man, a Woman and a Bank” (1979), starring Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams and Paul Mazursky. The “Bride of Violence” (1990) was his complete creation, while he also wrote and starred in the film “What the Night Can Do” (2020).

Music Aspirations

Stuart is a talented lyricist and compositor; he has worked closely with his longtime friend singer-songwriter Jerry Riopelle. In addition, he collaborated with the band Shango, and released his solo album “And the Angel Sings” in 1980.

Stuart Margolin Net Worth, Height, Weight, and Appearance

Stuart has over 120 film and TV credits to his name accomplished in a career that spans for 60 years, so has been rendered often as one of the best character actors, however, he is so much more than just a regular actor, as he has proven his talents in directing and writing. His net worth has grown accordingly, and sources estimate that it’s over $16 million, as of mid- 2020.

Stuart Margolin stands at 5ft 8ins (1.77m) tall, while he weighs approximately 170lbs ~ 78kgs. He has brown eyes and his hair is now grey, though in the past he had black hair.

Stuart Margolin Personal Life, Marriage, Wife, Children

Stuart has been married three times and two divorces behind him. His first wife was Terri Lynn McCourtney; the two married on the 23rd of June 1962, but their marriage failed apparently because of Stuart’s career, as he was often traveling and even spent six months away from his wife. His second wife was Joyce Eliason, a television writer nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards. The two married in 1966 but divorced nine years later.

After his second marriage ended in divorce, he renewed his friendship with Patricia Ann Dunne, whom he had met while at the juvenile court – she was his judge and his peer. When they married, Patricia had already been divorced and had three children, Max, Christopher, and Michelle Martini, who are all in the film industry. Max is an actor, Christopher a producer and writer, while Michelle is a costume designer. Stuart and Patricia don’t have children of their own, however, Stuart is the respected step-father of her children from her previous marriage.