Paul Raymond Burke

 Paul Raymond Burke (July 21, 1926 – September 13, 2009),

He was best known for his lead roles in two 1960s ABC television series, Naked City and Twelve O'Clock High. He was twice nominated for an Emmy Award for his portrayal of New York Police Department detective Adam Flint in Naked City. After training at the Pasadena Playhouse, Burke's film career began with a small role in the movie Golden Girl. Early in his career, Burke guest starred in the syndicated series, Highway Patrol and Men of Annapolis. In 1956–1957, Burke was cast as Dr. Noah McCann in Noah's Ark, a Jack Webb-produced weekly program which aired on NBC, the story of a pair of dedicated veterinarians. Victor Rodman played the older colleague, Dr. Sam Rinehart.

In the 1957–1958 season, Burke appeared as Jeff Kittridge in five episodes of Barry Sullivan's adventure/drama series, Harbormaster. Burke also guest starred on episodes of The Lone Ranger, Tightrope, Dragnet, Adventures of Superman, The Man and the Challenge, and M Squad. In the 1959–1960 season, he appeared as Robertson in the NBC espionage series Five Fingers, starring with David Hedison. After Five Fingers, Burke was cast in the lead role of the police show Naked City, in which he appeared as Adam Flint from 1960 to 1963. Burke then appeared in the starring role of Captain (later Major, then Colonel) Joe Gallagher on Twelve O'Clock High between 1964 and 1967, during which time he met his wife, Lyn. The Twelve O'Clock High role was Burke's last lead television role. In 1967, Burke starred in the film Valley of the Dolls as Lyon Burke, the young lawyer who befriended all three female stars and had a tempestuous relationship with Anne Welles. He also played a police officer who pursued an art thief played by Steve McQueen in The Thomas Crown Affair. During the 1970s, he appeared in three episodes each of ABC's The Love Boat and CBS's Medical Center. He retired from acting in the early 1990s. Suffering from leukemia and non-Hodgkins lymphoma, he died at his home in Palm Springs, California. He was 83.