From the L.A. Times comes word of the death of Tige Andrews:

   Tige Andrews, a character actor who earned an Emmy nomination for portraying Capt. Adam Greer, the officer who recruited the undercover cops of television’s “The Mod Squad,” has died. He was 86.

   Andrews, who often played detectives during a TV career that spanned five decades, died of cardiac arrest Jan. 27 at his longtime home in Encino, his family said.

   Mr. Andrews was born Tiger Androwaous on March 19, 1920 in Brooklyn, N.Y. His parents, immigrants from Syria, reportedly named him after a strong animal to guarantee good health.

Mod Squad

   From VARIETY, some more about his career:

   Andrews also had a recurring role as Lt. Johnny Russo in The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor, which ran from 1959 to 1962. He made numerous appearances on TV shows including The Phil Silvers Show, Star Trek (where he played Kras, the second-ever appearance of a Klingon), Gunsmoke, Marcus Welby M.D., Kojak and Murder, She Wrote.

   Of the most interest to crime fiction fans, other series on which Mr. Andrews appeared are the ones below, beginning with his earliest. These are all guest appearances, although some may also have been short recurring roles:

   Kraft Mystery Theater, Inner Sanctum, U. S. Marshal, Playhouse 90 (as Frank Nitti), The Grand Jury, The Lawless Years, The Fugitive, The FBI, Police Story, Police Woman, Kojak, Vega$, CHiPs, Quincy M.E., Hawaiian Heat, Street Hawk, and Sledge Hammer!

               “One white…one black…one blonde.”

   Aimed at the youth market, The Mod Squad, in which three troubled youngsters fight crime as undercover agents for the police, was one of the those TV programs that was on the air at exactly the right time and struck precisely the right chord for its viewers. As a precursor to several such series that followed, such as 21 Jump Street, The Mod Squad was on for five seasons between 1968 and 1973.

Mod Squad

    From the Mod Squad “unofficial” home page:

   The show worked because of its clothes, its language, its attitudes and, of course, its timing. The show’s topics, such as student unrest and anti-war statements could only have worked in the late 60s. That’s why, despite being one of the better tv reunion movies with a perfectly suited and reasonably well-written storyline, the 1979 reunion movie wasn’t successful. That’s also why the big screen movie was one of the worst movies ever. That’s all that will be said here about the movie — this site is dedicated to the grooviest gang of television fuzz that ever wore a badge: Michael Cole, Clarence Williams III and Peggy Lipton as Pete, Linc and Julie.

   More from the same source. I should apologize for quoting as much as I am here, perhaps, but why not, when someone else has said it this well:

   All three were on probation when they were approached by Captain Adam Greer to form a special ‘youth squad’ to infiltrate the counter-culture and catch the adult crime-lords who preyed on the young kids, but never the kids themselves.

   While the Mod Squad were “fuzz,” they certainly weren’t “pigs.” Being from the Flower-Children era, they didn’t carry guns; instead, they wore beads and hip clothing and used the slang of the day: “groovy,” “keep the faith” and, most notably, “solid.”

   It was Tige Andrews as the straighter and narrower Captain Greer that pulled the show together, however. As the man in charge, he acted as both a mentor and father figure to the threesome. Gruff but caring, he added the essential balance which helped make the series a success.

   Mr. Andrews’ last appearance on television was on Murder, She Wrote, January 6, 1991, in an episode entitled “Family Doctor.” IMDB states that he played the role of Carmine Abruzzi, but that seems to be in error.

   From the online All Movie Guide comes both a synopsis and a revisionist approach to the credits:

   While dining out in Boston, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) and Seth (William Windom) are witness to a mob “hit.” The victim is a member of the powerful Abruzzi crime family, who despite Seth’s efforts to save him does not survive. Enter the dead man’s vengeful son Michael (Vincent Irizarry), who kidnaps both Seth and Jessica–meaning that it is literally a matter of life and death for Jessica to find out who ordered the elder Abruzzi’s assassination and prove to Michael that Seth was not responsible for his dad’s demise. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

   Cast:
Newell Alexander: FBI Agent Zweiback
Tige Andrews: Lt. Marino
Cynthia Bain: Denise Abruzzi
Joe Cortese: Carmine Abruzzi
Rose Gregorio: Rosa Abruzzi
Vince Irizarry: Michael Abruzzi

   Personally, I like the All Movie Guide’s version better. I’d greatly prefer that the last time Mr. Andrews’ appeared in a movie or on television, it was as a cop, rather than as a villain. Not that he didn’t play villains during his career, I understand that, but it’s as a policeman that he’ll always be remembered.

          —

      MOD SQUAD – The Books

* Richard Deming:
      o The Greek God Affair (n.) Pyramid 1968
      o A Groovy Way to Die (n.) Pyramid 1968
      o The Sock-It-to-Em Murders (n.) Pyramid 1968
      o Assignment: The Arranger (n.) Whitman 1969
      o Spy-In (n.) Pyramid 1969
      o Assignment: The Hideout (n.) Whitman 1970
      o The Hit (n.) Pyramid 1970

Book

* William Johnston:
      o Home Is Where the Quick Is (n.) Pinnacle 1971

                  Data from Crime Fiction IV, by Allen J. Hubin.