Donnelly Rhodes
Donnelly Rhodes Henry (December 4, 1937 – January 8, 2018)[1][2] was a Canadian character actor with many American television and film credits, probably best known to American audiences as the hapless escaped convict Dutch Leitner on the ABC soap opera spoof Soap and as Phillip Chancellor II on The Young and the Restless. Rhodes was well known to Canadian audiences as Sgt. Nick Raitt in the CBC TV series Sidestreet (1975–1978) and as Grant "Doc" Roberts in another CBC TV series called Danger Bay (1985–1990). He also starred as Doctor Cottle ("Doc") on the Sci Fi Channel television program Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009).
Donnelly Rhodes | |
|---|---|
 Donnelly Rhodes | |
| Born | Donnelly Rhodes Henry December 4, 1937 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
| Died | January 8, 2018 (aged 80) Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1956–2017 |
| Spouse(s) | Sarah Wilson (2011–2018 (his death)) Diane Dewey (1978–19??; divorced) Diane Pine (1975–1977; divorced) Virginia Haxall Harrison (1966–1970; divorced) Martha Buhs (1962–196?; divorced) |
| Children | 2 |
Life and career
Rhodes was born in 1937, although some sources say 1936,[3] and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He was a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada. Between 1998 and 2005 he played the role of Detective Leo Shannon in the popular Canadian television series, Da Vinci's Inquest. From 1985 to 1990, he played Dr. Grant Roberts in the family adventure series Danger Bay. He starred as ruthless corporate lawyer R.J. Williams during the 1991-92 season of the Canadian legal drama Street Legal.
A large portion of Rhodes' career consists of guest starring roles in American television. He appeared twice on the NBC western series, Laredo: in 1965, he played Bob Jamison in Rendezvous at Arillo and played a lead role in "The Trap", an episode on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.
The next year, Rhodes was cast in The Would-Be Gentleman of Laredo as Don Carlos; in the story line, three swindlers used character Reese Bennett (Neville Brand) as a dupe in a land fraud scheme by which they claim ownership of most of Laredo.[4]
In 1966, Rhodes appeared as the Indian Red Eagle in the episode "Pariah" of NBC's western series, The Road West. That same year, he guest starred on the CBS western, Dundee and the Culhane.
Rhodes appeared in the Season 4 episode "The Mastermind" of Mission: Impossible on CBS in 1969. In 1973, Rhodes co-starred in an episode of the sci-fi drama The Starlost (Episode 12, 'The Implant People'). He played Phillip Chancellor II in The Young and the Restless from 1974 to 1975 and from 1978 to 1981 he played escaped convict Dutch Leitner on Soap.
In 1980, Rhodes played a Franciscan priest in the miniseries The Chisholms. In 1982, he played Leo, a bar patron on Cheers. In 1983 he appeared as Wilson Arthur MacLeish on the Magnum P.I. Episode "Of Sound Mind" In 1984, he had a supporting role as the beleaguered father, Art Foster, in the short-lived TV series Double Trouble, and appeared as Arland D. Williams Jr. in the television disaster film Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac. In 1987, he made a guest appearance on The Golden Girls as Jake Smollens, the handsome but rough-around-the edges caterer for Blanche's (Rue McClanahan) hospital charity banquet.
In 1988, Rhodes guest starred on Empty Nest as Leonard, an old friend of the main character, Dr. Harry Weston (played by fellow Soap alumnus, Richard Mulligan), who dates Harry's daughter, Carol (played by Soap alumna Dinah Manoff). In 1991 he played the "Prodigal Father" in an episode of Murder She Wrote.
In 1993, Rhodes played Jim Parker in "Shapes" (Season 1, episode 19) of The X-Files. For seven years (1998-2005) he played Detective Leo Shannon on Da Vinci's Inquest. He played the character Milash in an episode of Smallville in 2008.
On the revived Battlestar Galactica (2004–09), Rhodes played Chief Medical Officer Sherman Cottle who smoked cigarettes in most scenes. Most recently Rhodes played Mr. Decker, Rufus Decker's father, in the two seasons of The Romeo Section on CBC in 2015-2016.
Rhodes' film appearances were fewer but included roles in Gunfight in Abilene (1967), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), Change of Mind (1969), The Neptune Factor (1973), Goldenrod (1976), Oh! Heavenly Dog (1980), Urban Safari (1995), and Tron: Legacy (2010).[5]
In February 2009, the Union of British Columbia Performers honoured Rhodes with the Sam Payne Award for Lifetime Achievement.[6]
Radio work
Rhodes provided the voice of the American president at the start of each episode of the CBC Radio One space opera/comedy series Canadia: 2056.
Death
Rhodes died of cancer at the Baillie House Hospice in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, at the age of 80.[7][8]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Reprisal! | Buck | |
| 1957 | The 27th Day | Television Technician | Uncredited |
| 1967 | Gunfight in Abilene | Joe Slade | Uncredited |
| 1969 | Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | Macon | |
| 1969 | Change of Mind | Roger Morrow | |
| 1973 | The Neptune Factor | Diver Bob Cousins | |
| 1973 | The Hard Part Begins | Jim King | |
| 1976 | Goldenrod | Keno McLaughlin | |
| 1980 | Oh! Heavenly Dog | Montanero | |
| 1984 | Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac | Arland D. Williams Jr. | TV movie |
| 1989 | The Penthouse | Lt. Valeri | |
| 1991 | The Legend of Kootenai Brown | 'McTooth' | |
| 1996 | Urban Safari | Harry | |
| 1997 | Indefensible: The Truth About Edward Brannigan | Jack Bailey | TV movie |
| 2001 | Touched by a Killer | Bernie Gordon | |
| 2002 | Pressure | Sheriff Cooper | |
| 2002 | Snow Dogs | Race Official #1 | |
| 2009 | Damage | Deacon | |
| 2010 | Goblin | Charlie | TV movie |
| 2010 | Ramona and Beezus | Crusty Photographer | |
| 2010 | Hunt to Kill | Sheriff Westlake | |
| 2010 | Tron: Legacy | Grandpa Flynn | |
| 2011 | Marley & Me: The Puppy Years | Fred Grogan | |
| 2012 | Barricade | Sheriff Howes |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Bonanza | Latigo / Little Henchman | 2 episodes |
| 1965–1966 | Laredo | Don Carlos / Bob Jamison | 2 episodes |
| 1965 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | John Cochran | Episode: "The Trap" |
| 1965 | Wagon Train | Jeremiah Stewart | Episode: "The Wanda Snow Story" |
| 1966 | The Road West | Red Eagle | Episode: "Pariah" |
| 1966 | The Virginian | Ben Colby | Episode: "The Wolves Up Front, the Jackals Behind" |
| 1967 | Custer | War Cloud | Episode: "Dangerous Prey" |
| 1967 | Mannix | Ramon Verona | Episode: "The Cost Of A Vacation" |
| 1967 | Dundee and the Culhane | Michael | Episode: "The Vasquez Brief" |
| 1967 | Tarzan | Hank | Episode: "Hotel Hurricane" |
| 1967 | The Wild Wild West | Captain Dansby | Episode: "The Night of the Legion of Death" |
| 1968–1972 | Mission: Impossible | Joel Morgan / Lou Merrick / Raymond Barret | 3 episodes |
| 1973 | The Starlost | Roloff | "The Implant People" |
| 1978–1981 | Soap | Dutch Leitner | 38 episodes (Season 2-4) |
| 1979 | The New Adventures of Wonder Woman | Ward Selkirk | Episode: "A Date with Doomsday" |
| 1980 | The Chisholms | Franciscan priest | Episode: "The Siren Song" |
| 1982 | Report to Murphy | Charlie | 6 episodes |
| 1982 | Cheers | Leo | Episode: "Sam's Women" |
| 1982 | The Facts of Life | Sal Largo | Episode: "Jo's Cousin" |
| 1982 | Taxi | Angelo (Tony's father) | Episode: "Travels with My Dad" |
| 1982–1983 | Hill Street Blues | Judge Paul Grogin | 4 episodes |
| 1983 | Magnum PI | Wilson Arthur MacLeish | Episode: "Of Sound Mind" |
| 1983 | Gimme a Break! | Mayor | Episode: "The Centerfold: Part 2" |
| 1983 | Amanda's | Mr. Johnson | Episode: "You Were Meant for Me" |
| 1984 | Alice | Frank | Episode: "Tommy Goes Overboard" |
| 1984–1985 | Double Trouble | Art Foster | 9 episodes |
| 1985–1990 | Danger Bay | Dr. Grant Roberts | 122 episodes |
| 1987 | The Golden Girls | Jake Smollens | Episode: "Diamond in the Rough" |
| 1988 | Empty Nest | Leonard | Episode: "Harry's Friend" |
| 1988–1993 | Murder, She Wrote | William Mahaffy / Ned Jenks / Ed Bellamy | 3 episodes |
| 1991–1992 | Street Legal | R.J. Williams | 10 episodes |
| 1993 | The X-Files | Jim Parker | Episode: "Shapes" |
| 1996-1997 | The Outer Limits (1995) | Senator / General James Eiger | 2 episodes |
| 1998 | The Young and the Restless | Phillip Chancellor II | 2 episodes |
| 1998–2005 | Da Vinci's Inquest | Leo Shannon | 91 episodes |
| 1999 | Hope Island | Jake Mitchum | Episode: "Look One Way and Row Another" |
| 2000 | Call of the Wild | Thadeus P. Rossmore | Episode: "Betrayal" |
| 2005–2013 | Supernatural | Father Simon / Mr. Shaw | 2 episodes |
| 2006 | Whistler | Daniel Wallace | Episode: "In the Air" |
| 2007 | Psych | Judge Horace Leland | Episode: "Cloudy... With a Chance of Murder" |
| 2008 | Smallville | Milash | Episode: "Quest" |
| 2008 | The L Word | Colonel Jon Smythe | Episode: "Lesbians Gone Wild" |
| 2004–2009 | Battlestar Galactica | Chief Medical Officer Dr. Cottle | 36 episodes |
| 2010 | Human Target | Guerrero's Friend | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2010 | Heartland | Ila Stark | Episode: "The Slippery Slope" |
| 2013 | Arctic Air | Virgil Haggard | Episode: "Skeletons in the Closet" |
| 2015–2016 | The Romeo Section | Mr. Decker - Rufus Decker's father | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | The Flash | Agent Smith | Episode: "Invasion!" |
| 2016 | Legends of Tomorrow | Agent Smith | Episode: "Invasion!" (final appearance) |
References
- Vlessing, Etan (January 9, 2018). "Donnelly Rhodes, 'The Flash' and 'Soap' Actor, Dies at 80". The Hollywood Reporter.
- "Donnelly Rhodes, Canadian actor known for 'Da Vinci's Inquest', dies at age 80". Global News. The Canadian Press. January 8, 2018.
- Slotnik, Daniel E. (January 10, 2018). "Donnelly Rhodes, Prolific Character Actor, Is Dead at 81". The New York Times.
- Hathorn,Billy. "Roy Bean, Temple Houston, Bill Longley, Ranald Mackenzie, Buffalo Bill, Jr., and the Texas Rangers: Depictions of West Texans in Series Television, 1955 to 1967", West Texas Historical Review, Vol. 89 (2013), p. 115
- "Donnelly Rhodes". IMDb. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
- Strachan, Alex (February 25, 2009). "Battlestar Galactica's Donnelly Rhodes honoured for career battles". The Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. Retrieved February 25, 2009.
- "Canadian television actor Donnelly Rhodes dies at age 80". CTV News. January 8, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
- Mitovich, Matt Webb (January 8, 2018). "TV Vet Donnelly Rhodes, of Battlestar Galactica and Soap, Dead at 80". TVLine. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
External links
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