Dolph Sweet
Encyclopedia
Dolph Sweet was an American actor, credited with nearly 60 television and film roles as well as several roles in stage productions before his death from cancer
in 1985.
with the US Army Air Force, serving as a navigator
on B-24 Liberator
bomber aircraft. During his service, he was shot down over Romania
while flying on Operation Tidal Wave, and subsequently spent two years as a POW.
After the war, he played semi-pro football and boxed as he worked on a masters degree from Columbia University
. He went on to head up the drama department at Barnard College
. Shortly after, he made his Broadway debut in Rhinoceros which starred Zero Mostel
.
His first major film role was in the motion picture The Young Doctors
in 1961. He went on to make numerous guest appearances in films and on television through the 1960s, including roles on The Defenders, The Edge of Night
, Finian's Rainbow
(1968) as the Sheriff and Dark Shadows
. In his personal life he married and had a son. This marriage ended in divorce before the mid-1970s; Sweet later remarried.
Through the 1970s, he was much in demand. Sweet had roles in films such as Colossus: The Forbin Project
, The Out-of-Towners
, The Lords of Flatbush
, The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training
, Fear Is the Key
, Which Way Is Up?
, The Wanderers
, Go Tell The Spartans
and Heaven Can Wait
. In addition to film roles, he also had guest starring roles on Little House on the Prairie
and Mrs. Columbo. He had a notable role as FBI director J. Edgar Hoover
in the 1978 television miniseries King, based on the life of civil rights
leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
He was well known for his role as policeman Gil McGowan, third husband of Ada Hobson, on the soap opera
Another World
(1972–1977).
As the 1980s began, Sweet worked steadily in such films as Reds and television series like Hill Street Blues
and Hart to Hart
.
on the sitcom
Gimme a Break!
, a role he played from 1981 until his death. Sweet was diagnosed with cancer
during the series' fourth season, but continued to work. Dolph Sweet died on May 8, 1985; his final appearance on Gimme a Break!
aired 3 days later, coincidentally, on the day of his funeral.
He is buried in Glendale, California
's Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery
.
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in 1985.
Biography
Born Adolphus Jean Sweet in New York, New York, his father was an auto mechanic and his first ambition was playing football. In 1939, he attended the University of Alabama; however, he was called away from his education for a tour of duty in World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
with the US Army Air Force, serving as a navigator
Navigator
A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation. The navigator's primary responsibility is to be aware of ship or aircraft position at all times. Responsibilities include planning the journey, advising the Captain or aircraft Commander of estimated timing to...
on B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
bomber aircraft. During his service, he was shot down over Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
while flying on Operation Tidal Wave, and subsequently spent two years as a POW.
After the war, he played semi-pro football and boxed as he worked on a masters degree from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. He went on to head up the drama department at Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
. Shortly after, he made his Broadway debut in Rhinoceros which starred Zero Mostel
Zero Mostel
Samuel Joel “Zero” Mostel was an American actor of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of comic characters such as Tevye on stage in Fiddler on the Roof, Pseudolus on stage and on screen in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Max Bialystock in the original film version...
.
His first major film role was in the motion picture The Young Doctors
The Young Doctors (film)
The Young Doctors is a 1961 film directed by Phil Karlson and starring Ben Gazzara, Fredric March, Dick Clark, Ina Balin, Eddie Albert, Phyllis Love, Aline MacMahon, George Segal and Dolph Sweet. The film is based on the 1959 novel "The Final Diagnosis" by Arthur Hailey...
in 1961. He went on to make numerous guest appearances in films and on television through the 1960s, including roles on The Defenders, The Edge of Night
The Edge of Night
The Edge of Night is an American television mystery series/soap opera produced by Procter & Gamble. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network until November 28, 1975; the series then moved to ABC, where it aired from December 1, 1975, until December 28, 1984...
, Finian's Rainbow
Finian's Rainbow
Finian's Rainbow is a musical with a book by E.Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Burton Lane. The 1947 Broadway production ran for 725 performances. Several revivals and a 1968 film version followed. A Broadway revival ran from October 8, 2009 until January 17, 2010...
(1968) as the Sheriff and Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows is a gothic soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966 to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis. The story bible, which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements...
. In his personal life he married and had a son. This marriage ended in divorce before the mid-1970s; Sweet later remarried.
Through the 1970s, he was much in demand. Sweet had roles in films such as Colossus: The Forbin Project
Colossus: The Forbin Project
Colossus: The Forbin Project is an American science fiction thriller film. It is based upon the 1966 novel Colossus, by Dennis Feltham Jones, about a massive American defense computer, named Colossus, becoming sentient and deciding to assume control of the world.-Plot:Dr. Charles A...
, The Out-of-Towners
The Out-of-Towners (1970 film)
The Out-of-Towners is a 1970 comedy film written by Neil Simon, directed by Arthur Hiller, and starring Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis. It was released by Paramount Pictures on May 28, 1970....
, The Lords of Flatbush
The Lords of Flatbush
The Lords of Flatbush is a 1974 American drama film about a street gang in leather jackets from the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York....
, The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training
The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training
The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training is the 1977 sequel to the feature film The Bad News Bears.This film picks up the Bears' career a year after their infamous second-place finish in the North Valley League. However, after winning this year, they are left reeling by the departure of Buttermaker...
, Fear Is the Key
Fear is the Key
Fear Is the Key is a 1961 thriller novel by Scottish author Alistair MacLean, and a 1972 British film based upon it.-Plot introduction:In the prologue, set in May 1958, Talbot, owner of "Trans Carib Air Charter Co" was in radio contact with one of his planes en route to Tampa, Florida, as it is...
, Which Way Is Up?
Which Way Is Up?
Which Way is Up? is a comedy film starring Richard Pryor. It was directed by Michael Schultz, and is a remake of the 1972 Italian film The Seduction of Mimi, which was written and directed by Lina Wertmuller....
, The Wanderers
The Wanderers (1979 film)
The Wanderers is a 1979 greaser film based on the novel by Richard Price .-Overview:...
, Go Tell The Spartans
Go Tell the Spartans
Go Tell the Spartans is a 1978 American war film based on Daniel Ford's 1967 novel Incident at Muc Wa, about U.S. Army military advisors during the early part of the Vietnam War in 1964, a time when Ford was a correspondent in Vietnam for The Nation.The film's title is from Simonides's epitaph to...
and Heaven Can Wait
Heaven Can Wait (1978 film)
Heaven Can Wait is a 1978 American comedy film directed by Warren Beatty and Buck Henry. It is the second film adaptation of Harry Segall's stageplay of the same name, preceded by Here Comes Mr. Jordan and followed by Down to Earth...
. In addition to film roles, he also had guest starring roles on Little House on the Prairie
Little House on the Prairie (TV series)
Little House on the Prairie is an American Western drama television series, starring Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert, about a family living on a farm in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in the 1870s and 1880s. The show was an adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's best-selling series of Little House books...
and Mrs. Columbo. He had a notable role as FBI director J. Edgar Hoover
J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation—predecessor to the FBI—in 1924, he was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972...
in the 1978 television miniseries King, based on the life of civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
He was well known for his role as policeman Gil McGowan, third husband of Ada Hobson, on the soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Another World
Another World (TV series)
Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It ran for a total of 35 years. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J...
(1972–1977).
As the 1980s began, Sweet worked steadily in such films as Reds and television series like Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues is an American serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. Chronicling the lives of the staff of a single police precinct in an unnamed American city, the show received critical acclaim and its production innovations ...
and Hart to Hart
Hart to Hart
Hart to Hart is an American television series, starring Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, a wealthy couple who also moonlighted as amateur detectives. The series was created by writer Sidney Sheldon and produced by Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg...
.
Gimme a Break! and Death
Sweet is probably best remembered for his role as cantankerous police chief and father Carl Kanisky, who was constantly at odds with housekeeper Nell CarterNell Carter
Nell Carter was an American singer, and film, stage, and television actress. She won a Tony Award for her performance in the Broadway musical Ain't Misbehavin, as well as an Emmy Award for her reprisal of the role on television...
on the sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Gimme a Break!
Gimme a Break!
Gimme a Break! is an American sitcom which aired on NBC from October 29, 1981, until May 12, 1987. The series stars Nell Carter as the housekeeper for a widowed police chief and his three daughters.-Premise:...
, a role he played from 1981 until his death. Sweet was diagnosed with cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
during the series' fourth season, but continued to work. Dolph Sweet died on May 8, 1985; his final appearance on Gimme a Break!
Gimme a Break!
Gimme a Break! is an American sitcom which aired on NBC from October 29, 1981, until May 12, 1987. The series stars Nell Carter as the housekeeper for a widowed police chief and his three daughters.-Premise:...
aired 3 days later, coincidentally, on the day of his funeral.
He is buried in Glendale, California
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
's Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery
Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery
Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery at 1341 GlenwoodRoad in Glendale, California was established in 1884 as Grand View Cemetery.The cemetery was purchased by Len C. Davis in the 1920s, renamed Grand View Memorial Park, and extensively remodeled. A 40 foot entrance arch was added on what is now...
.