American television actor James Sicking, best known for his role in the police series Hill Street Blues Where he played the outspoken Howard Hunter. He also played the father in the sitcom Dougie Hauser, MD

Hill Street Blues It completely reinvented the police genre in the early 1980s. Instead of one hero solving a case each week, there was more focus on different stories, including personal and interpersonal relationships between the officers themselves. The show did this with an unprecedented gritty realism. Hill Street Blues ran on NCRV in the Netherlands for many years.

Sikking’s character traits include his eternal pipe, bulletproof vest and officer’s cap. He once told an interviewer that he based his tough-guy persona on a training instructor he met during his military service. “His hair looked like it was made of steel and his uniform was so starched that he could stand up if he took it off.”

Sikking played the Vietnam veteran who led the police department’s SWAT team in all 144 episodes of the show over seven seasons. His tough-guy character often brought a comedic touch to lighter situations, such as his exaggeration of using the loudspeaker Or a meeting With Shar Pei puppy.

Or his complaint about pipe tobacco:

The role earned him an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 1984, capping off a decades-long career of playing supporting roles. “It was often crap, but this was special.”

Sikking began his career in the 1960s with small roles in series such as Perry Mason, Rawhide! And External borders. Although he played an alcoholic doctor on the hospital series for years, Public HospitalHe did not get much beyond supporting roles in the 1970s, as in mash, Little House on the Meadow, Starsky and Hutch And Charlie’s Angels.

However, he also owes his breakthrough to that series of roles, as he was able to collaborate with her several times. Hill Street Blues-Creator Steven Bochco. This producer also took Sikking with him when he left after the end of the movie. Hill Street Blues In the 1989 comedy series Dougie Hauser, MD It began. Siking was the father of the teenage doctor played by Neil Patrick Harris.

Sikking also appeared in small roles in films such as ordinary people, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock And Pelican Brief. His last important role was in 2012 in a police series. the closest By Kyra Sedgwick.

Siking died Saturday at his home in Los Angeles surrounded by his family. His publicist lists complications from dementia as the cause of death.