Kevin Dobson
Date of birth: 1943-03-18
Place of birth: New York City, New York, USA
Known for: Acting
Also known as: Kevin James Dobson
Biography
Kevin Patrick Dobson is an American film and television actor, best known for his roles as Detective Bobby Crocker, the trusted protege of Lt. Theo Kojak (played by Telly Savalas) in the CBS crime drama Kojak, and as M. Patrick "Mack" MacKenzie in the soap opera Knots Landing. After a brief appearance in the 1971 film Klute, and small acting roles on TV series such as The Mod Squad, Emergency! and Cannon, Dobson signed a contract with Universal Studios in 1972. This led to his role of Det. Bobby Crocker, Lt. Theo Kojak's young partner, in the TV series Kojak, opposite Telly Savalas. For the role, he had to borrow a suit. He had twice auditioned and failed, then called his agent, telling him, "'Do what you have to do,' so he called in a favor and I read for them [again]. I was a military policeman in the Army, so I knew how to hold a gun and throw somebody against a wall. I got a call [the next night] asking if I'd sign a contract." Dobson auditioned for a third time and finally won. He remained with Kojak for its entire five-season run from 1973 to 1978, and later reunited with Savalas for the 1990 TV movie, Kojak: It's Always Something, his character having become an assistant district attorney. They remained friends until Savalas' death from bladder cancer in 1994. In 1978, Dobson played Pete Lomas in the two-part TV movie The Immigrants, based on the novel by Howard Fast. In 1981, Dobson starred as Det. Jack Shannon, a San Francisco police officer who is a single father, in the CBS series Shannon. However, the show failed to gain substantial ratings and was canceled after nine episodes. A more successful TV role for Dobson followed in 1982: M. Patrick "Mack" MacKenzie in the soap opera Knots Landing, opposite Michele Lee. He joined the show at the beginning of its fourth season in September 1982 and remained in the role until its cancellation in 1993. Dobson won five Soap Opera Digest Awards for his work on the series. He later reunited with his Knots Landing co-stars for a miniseries, Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac in 1997, and again in the 2005 non-fiction special Knots Landing Reunion: Together Again. Dobson has also appeared in a number of feature films, most notably the World War II movie, Midway, alongside Henry Fonda and Charlton Heston, as Ensign George Gay — a pilot and the sole survivor of Torpedo Squadron Eight from the Aircraft Carrier USS Hornet's ill-fated opening attack against the Japanese fleet on June 4, 1942. Another prominent role was as the husband of Barbra Streisand in the 1981 romantic comedy All Night Long. He also had a small role as a priest in the well-received 2007 psychological horror film 1408. Dobson continued to appear in a number of TV roles, including the syndicated F/X: The Series for one season, the drama series The Bold and the Beautiful, and as the fourth actor to play Mickey Horton on Days of Our Lives.
Movie Credits
Mom, Can I Keep Her?
1998-06-10
Timmy Blair has the usual twelve-year-old's share of problems: his father is too busy at work, his n
Nobody Lives Forever
1998-03-26
A homicide detective finds himself in an uneasy triangle with his fiancée and a female partner.
Voice from the Grave
1996-03-20
A segment from the 'Unsolved Mysteries' TV series inspired this story, in which a nurse (Megan Ward)
Crash Landing
2006-07-11
When a hostage situation arises on-board a private plane with the daughter of a billionaire on-board
Transplant
1979-04-17
Fact-based story about a hard-driving young executive who rebels against his failing heart and under
All Night Long
1981-03-06
Executive George Dupler loses his temper and is demoted to the night manager at a 24 hour drugstore.
Hardhat & Legs
1980-02-09
A sex education teacher falls for a construction worker with a gambling problem.
Mark, I Love You
1980-12-10
A distraught widower is caught in a bitter custody battle with his late wife's parents over his 10-y
Money, Power, Murder.
1989-12-10
Peter Finley is a cable-TV newsman who is led into a network of sin and conspiracy when he has inter
Restraining Order
1999-04-30
Robert Woodfield is a criminal defense attorney, and he has defended a lot of criminals, many of who
She's No Angel
2002-03-04
A drama and thriller story of a young woman who has suffered great abuse as a girl and who finds hap
Margin for Murder
1981-10-15
Mickey Spillane's hard-hitting '50s private eye, Mike Hammer, returns to television in the guise of
If Someone Had Known
1995-05-01
A young wife and mother is abused by her husband and keeps the secret from her friends and family.
Beast of the Bering Sea
2013-11-09
With their father killed by a swarm of vampiric sea creatures, Bering Sea adventurers, Joe and Donna
A House of Secrets and Lies
1992-09-27
A newswoman is consumed by suspicions and guilt over her rocky marriage.
Reunion
1980-10-14
A married man, returning to his small town for a high school reunion, finds himself torn between his
Fatal Friendship
1991-12-01
A man begins suspecting that his best friend may be involved in an international crime ring.
Dirty Work
1992-07-22
A bail bondsman deals drugs on the side and thinks he's struck it rich when he conceives a scheme to
Sweet Revenge
1984-10-31
While a major in the U.S. Army, Joe Cheever has a fling with his commanding officer's daughter that
FX - Final Illusion
1996-05-23
The Conviction of Kitty Dodds
1993-11-02
An abused woman escapes from prison, is recaptured, and sent back then tries to get her sentence red
The Immigrants
1978-11-20
The rags-to-riches saga of a young Italian immigrant who battles his way out of the San Francisco ea
1408
2007-06-22
A man who specializes in debunking paranormal occurrences checks into the fabled room 1408 in the Do
Portal
2009-01-01
Soon after finding their way into the shelter of the mysterious, fog-engulfed town of Mercy, two fri
Casey's Gift: For Love of a Child
1990-09-24
The friendships held between two families is threatened when one of their sons drowns in the other f
Christmas at Cadillac Jack's
2007-12-18
While stranded at a diner on Christmas Eve, Rose finds personal redemption in protecting a young bab
Dark Power
2013-07-09
When the mayor of a crime-ridden city and his opponent are both assassinated while seeking election,
Kojak: It's Always Something
1990-01-31
After discovering the connection between a corrupt city commissioner and Colombian killers, Kojak is
Midway
1976-06-18
This war drama depicts the U.S. and Japanese forces in the naval Battle of Midway, which became a tu
Klute
1971-06-23
A high-priced call girl is forced to depend on a reluctant private eye when she is stalked by a psyc