Efrem Zimbalist Jr., who portrayed stalwart heroes in 77 Sunset Strip and The FBI, has died at 95, according to an obituary at the DEADLINE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS WEBSITE.
Between the two shows, Zimbalist had a starring role on U.S. television for 15 out of 16 years from 1958 to 1974. He stayed busy with character roles afterward, including a recurring part on Remington Steele, with his daughter Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan. He also voiced Alfred the Butler in Batman cartoons beginning in 1992 and lasting into the early 21st century.
In 77 Sunset Strip, Zimbalist played former OSS agent Stewart Bailey, who ran a private detective agency. It was an early hit on television for Warner Bros. The first five seasons included a snappy theme song and a mostly lighter take on the proceedings. The sixth, and final, season had a drastic makeover where Zimbalist was the only cast member retained.
Zimbalist was back in television in 1965, with The FBI. He played Inspector Lewis Erskine, the bureau’s top investigator. It would run for nine seasons and be the long-running series by producer Quinn Martin. The show featured a good many espionage-related stories in its early seasons, though that tailed off over time. By the seventh season (the most recent released on DVD), there were only three such stories.
77 Sunset Strip featured a lot of fast-paced banter between Zimbalist’s Bailey and the other detectives in the agency. Zimbalist’s Erskine, by contrast, was stern much of the time. In the earliest episodes, Erskine is still tormented how his wife “took a bullet meant for me.” He had a daughter in college (Lynn Loring) who wanted to marry his FBI associate, something that did not make Erskine happy. The angle was dropped before the end of the first season.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Master of the Pan flute?

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

I thought daughter Stefanie was hot in the Remington Steele series.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

My mom had the hots for this guy.

A Quinn Martin production!

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Sex isn't dirty, sex isn't a crime. It's a loving act between two or more consenting adults.

-Hank Kingsley

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

"The FBI!!! IN COLOR!!!"

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"I'm not smiling because I thought what you said was humorous. I'm smiling because one day I know you'll be dead..."

Even as a little boy,I associated "A Quinn Martin Production" with boring TV.
All story,never personality from any of the leads.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Zimbalist seems like a combo of Zildjan and Cymbals ... what's your job ? Oh, I make cymbals at Zildjan - I'm a Zimbalist! Sweet man, I love the sizzle you get from those 20" custom flat rides with rivets in them ....

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

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"I'm not smiling because I thought what you said was humorous. I'm smiling because one day I know you'll be dead..."