James Franciscus

Blonde, handsome, golden boy TV star of the 1960s and 70s. After a brief stint in summer stock, Franciscus made his feature debut in "Four Boys and a Gun" (1956). Although he appeared in several films during the 1960s and 70s (most notably as the title character in "Youngblood Hawke" 1964), he is best known for his work on four TV series: as the rookie detective on "Naked City" (1958-59), as the idealistic high school English teacher "Mr. Novak" (1963-65), the blind insurance investigator on "Longstreet" (1971-72), and the New York physician who retreats to the backwoods of Colorado, "Doc Elliot" (1973-74).

A "social register" blueblood, Franciscus twice portrayed Kennedyesque presidents, opposite Jacqueline Bisset in the 1978 feature "The Greek Tycoon" and the 1981 TV movie "Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy" opposite Jaclyn Smith. Later he turned to producing classics on TV ("Heidi," "The Red Pony," "Jane Eyre") and made occasional guest appearances on TV series before his death at 57 from emphysema.