Michael Cole (actor): Difference between revisions

{{Short description|American actor (born 1940)}}

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1940|7|3}}<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Cole |first1=Michael |title=I Played The White Guy |date=2018 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h5VdDwAAQBAJ&q=1940 |publisher=BearManor Media |isbn=978-1-62933-297-0 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

| birth_place = [[Madison, Wisconsin]], U.S.

'''Michael Cole''' (born July 3, 1940) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Pete Cochran on the television crime drama ''[[The Mod Squad]]'' (1968–1973). He is the last surviving member of the original cast.

[[File:Mod Squad 1971.JPG|thumb|right|200px|The ''Mod Squad'' main cast in 1971 from left: [[Clarence Williams III]], [[Peggy Lipton]] and Cole]]Cole has appeared in numerous films and TV shows, beginning in 1961 with a role in the film drama, ''Forbid Them Not.'' Other film credits include the role of Mark in the 1966 science fiction film, ''[[The Bubble (1966 film)|The Bubble]]'', later re-titled ''Fantastic Invasion of Planet Earth'',; Spivey in the western ''[[Chuka (film)|Chuka]]'' (1967),; Alan Miller in ''[[The Last Child (film)|The Last Child]]'' (1971),<ref>{{Citecite webnews| url=https://www.sfweekly.com/culture/the-golden-age-of-tv-movies-the-last-child-1971/| author= Nahmod, David-Elijah| title=The Golden Age of TV Movies: ''The Last Child'' (1971)|website=SFWeekly.com|date= 26 August 2015|publishernewspaper=[[SF Weekly]]| date=August 26, 2015| access-date=26 August 2015}}</ref> which was nominated for a [[Golden Globe Award]],<ref>;{{Citation|title=The Lastneeded Child – IMDb|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067326/awards|access-date=2022-11-20March 2024}}</ref> and as Cliff Norris in ''Beg, Borrow or Steal'' (1973). He did a great deal of stage work after ''The Mod Squad'' went off the air, such asincluding ''[[Cat on a Hot Tin Roof]].''

Cole has also appeared on ''[[Gunsmoke]],'' in 1966, as Kipp. During the 1970s, he had many guest appearances on ''[[Wonder Woman (TV series)|Wonder Woman]],'' ''[[The Love Boat]]'' and ''[[CHiPs]],'' and appeared in the made-for-TV thriller ''[[Evening in Byzantium]]'' in 1978. In the 1980s and 1990s, he worked on ''[[Nickel Mountain]].'' He also worked on shows such as ''[[The Eddie Capra Mysteries]]'',; ''[[Murder, She Wrote]],;'' ''[[Fantasy Island (1977 TV series)|Fantasy Island]],'' and ''[[Diagnosis: Murder]].'' Later, Cole appeared as the disturbed adult Henry Bowers in [[Stephen King]]'s 1990 two-part TV miniseries ''[[It (miniseries)|It]]''. In 1991, he joined the cast of ''[[General Hospital]]'' in the role of [[Harlan Barrett]].

But it was his role as Pete Cochran, a troubled youth turned crime fighter in ''[[The Mod Squad]]'' (1968–1973), that made Cole an international celebrity. Cole's boyish good looks and brooding, deep-voiced personality meshed perfectly with his character's backstory—a ne'er-do-well son of wealthy parents who had evicted him from their home after he had stolen a car.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Mod Squad TV Show Unofficial Home Page w/ Pictures & Episode Guide|url=https://www.chezgrae.com/modsquad/|access-date=2022-11-20|website=www.chezgrae.com}}</ref> Produced by [[Aaron Spelling]] and [[Danny Thomas]], ''[[The Mod Squad]]'' resonated with [[counterculture of the 1960s|counterculture]]-era viewers and ran for five seasons, during which a total of 123 episodes were produced.<ref>[http://www.tv.com/the-mod-squad/show/677/summary.html?full_summary=1&om_act=convert&om_clk=summarysh&tag=showspace_links;full_summary{{Citation Theneeded Mod Squad]. TV.com. Retrieved|date=March on2024}} 2012-03-01.</ref>

According to TVGuide.com''[[TV Guide]]'', Cole originally balked at the part of Peter Cochran when he realized he would be playing an undercover cop, saying: "I'm not going to take the part of a guy who [[Informant|finks]] on his friends!" He changed his mind, however, when he read the script and gathered the show's potential appeal.

Cole went through treatment in the [[Betty Ford Clinic]] in the early 1990s to get his drinking problem under control.<ref>{{Citecite web |url=http://www.courierlifenews.com/articles/2009/07/06/thisjustin/07ecole.txt |title=The book on Madison's 'Mod Squad' star Michael Cole |first=Doug |last=Moe |date=July 6, 2009 |publisherwebsite=Onalaska Holmen Courier Life |location=West Salem, Wisconsin |access-date=December 21, 2009}}</ref>

Cole continues to act in various film and television projects, and played the character Charles Hadley in a 2006 episode of the television series ''[[ER (TV series)|ER]].'' Also in 2006, Cole played opposite [[Clarence Williams III]] in ''Mystery Woman: At First Sight'', an episode of the ''[[Mystery Woman]]'' film series that aired on the Hallmark Channel.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mystery Woman: At First Sight (TV Movie 2006) – IMDb|website=[[IMDb]]|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0487264/fullcredits|access-date=2020-05-06}}</ref> Cole later made an appearance in the 2007 thriller ''[[Mr. Brooks]]'' as the attorney for [[Demi Moore]]'s character of Detective Tracy Atwood.

He was married three times and divorced twice. He has two children from his first marriage, and a daughter from the second marriage. Cole has been married to Shelley Funes since 1996.<ref>{{Citecite book| title=I Played the White Guy| last=Cole |first=Michael| publisher=BearManor Media| year=2018| isbn=978-1-62933-296-3}}</ref> Funes helped stage an [[Intervention (counseling)|intervention]] for Cole's alcoholism; Cole has been living sober ever since.<ref>{{Citation |title='Mod Squad' Star Michael Cole Opens Up About Battle With Addiction {{!}} Studio 10 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AzuohPZLIM |access-date=2023-03-27 |language=en}}</ref>

*''[[:It: Part 2 (miniseries)|It: Part 2]] '' (1990, TV) as Henry Bowers

[[Category:ActorsMale actors from Madison, Wisconsin]]