Darren McGavin

 Darren McGavin, born William Lyle Richardson (May 7, 1922 - February 25, 2006)

He was a film, stage, and television actor, best known for his portrayal of the grumpy but loving father in the film A Christmas Story, and for the title role in the television horror series Kolchak: The Night Stalker. McGavin began his career in walk-on roles and later onstage, appearing in Broadway productions in 1953, and later played the title character in the 1950s television series Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer. From 1959–1961, McGavin starred in the NBC Western series Riverboat, first with Burt Reynolds and then with Noah Beery, Jr., and in later years, he had a recurring role in the sitcom Murphy Brown, as the title character's father, for which he received an Emmy Award. When the comedy team Martin and Lewis broke up, McGavin played the role originally earmarked for Dean Martin in The Delicate Delinquent, Jerry Lewis's first solo film. In 1970, he was in negotiations to replace Larry Hagman as the male lead in the television series I Dream of Jeannie for an intended sixth season, but NBC stated that they would rather cancel the series than have any additional similarities to Bewitched, in which the male lead was replaced by another actor. McGavin made an uncredited appearance in 1984's The Natural as a shady gambler, and appeared on a Christmas episode ("Midnight of the Century") of Millennium, playing the long-estranged father of Frank Black (Lance Henriksen); he also appeared as Adam Sandler's character's hotel-magnate father in the 1995 movie Billy Madison. McGavin died on February 25, 2006, at the age of 83 of cardiovascular disease in a Los Angeles hospital. He is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.