Stuart Margolin, who won back-to-back Emmys for his recurring role as Evelyn “Angel” Martin in The Rockford Files and racked up more than 120 career screen credits, died today, his stepson Max Martini said on social media. He was 82.
In an Instagram post (see it below), Bosch: Legacy regular Martini wrote: “A profoundly gifted step-father that was always there with love and support for his family. RIP Pappy. Keep ‘em cold.” He did not provide a cause of death or other details.
Margolin won Emmys in 1979 and 1980 for the respective fifth and sixth seasons of NBC’s The Rockford Files, playing the former cellmate of Jim Rockford (James Garner). Appeared in more than three dozen episodes, including the series’ first and last, his shady-but-endearing character constantly sought Rockford’s help after getting mixed up with former criminal associates.
James Garner and Stuart Margolin in ‘The Rockford Files’
The Rockford Files was an initial hit, ranking No. 14 among primetime shows in a three-network universe during its initial 1974-75 season and spurring a Top 10 single with its Mike Post’s instrumental theme song. But it became more of a cult series after that, failing to make the full-season Top 30 again as it bounced around NBC’s schedule but winning the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series in 1978. It also was nominated in the category for its last two seasons.
Margolin reprised his Angel role in eight Rockford Files TV movies during the 1990s, a tribute to the show’s enduring popularity.
But it was hardly Margolin’s only credit.
He began his career in the early 1960s, doing guest shots on such popular series as The Fugitive, Ben Casey and Alfted Hitchcock Presents. Margolin continued to appear on TV throughout that decade in memorable and enduring shows including Ironside, The Virginian, The Monkees, Bewitched, The F.B.I. and The Partridge Family. He also became a familiar face on the randy anthology comedy Love, American Style, appearing in more than two dozen episodes from 1966-73.
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