Biography
His iron jaw and terse delivery made him the ideal crime fighter to tackle the worst gangsters of the Jazz Age on "The Untouchables" (ABC, 1959-1963). That air of moral inflexibility still carried freight almost 30 years later, when he hosted "Unsolved Mysteries" (NBC/CBS, 1987-2002). Prior to and between those two series, he co-starred in a number of popular films, earned an Academy Award nomination, and even got a few chances to poke fun at …
Latest Tv Credits
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Career Milestones
1998 | Resumed hosting duties of "Unsolved Mysteries" when it switched networks to CBS | |
1991 | Reprised most famous role in the NBC TV-movie "The Return of Eliot Ness" | |
1990 | Last on camera feature role (to date) "Joe Versus the Volcano" | |
| Served as host for "Unsolved Mysteries" (NBC); began as occasional specials before becoming a weekly series | ||
1985 | Co-starred in teh ABC miniseries "Hollywood Wives" | |
| Played the lead in the ABC series "Strike Force" | ||
1980 | Demonstrated comic flair in the spoof "Airplane!" | |
| Returned to series TV in "Most Wanted" (ABC) | ||
1975 | Played title role in "The Honorable Sam Houston" (ABC) | |
| Starred in the NBC crime drama "The Name of the Game" | ||
1968 | Again played detective investigating the case in an ABC remake of "Laura" | |
1959 | Co-produced and starred as Eliot Ness in the ABC crime drama "The Untouchables"; won Best Actor Emmy in 1960 | |
1959 | Had title role in the biopic "John Paul Jones" | |
1959 | Formed Langford Productions | |
1957 | Co-starred in the SIrk-directed "The Tarnished Angels" | |
1956 | Received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for "Written on the Wind", directed by Douglas Sirk | |
1955 | Played the destective investigating the case in a TV version of "Laura" (CBS) | |
1954 | Delivered a strong supporting turn as a pilot in "The High and the Mighty" | |
1951 | Had leading role in "The Bullfighter and the Lady" | |
| TV debut on live programs: "Lux Video Theatre", "Ford Theatre", "Producers Showcase" during the early 1950s | ||
| Film career interrupted during WWII when he served with US Air Force | ||
1942 | Appeared as a Polish flying ace in "To Be or Not To Be" | |
1939 | Screen debut, "First Love", in which he gave screen star Deanna Durbin her first screen kiss | |
| National skeet champion at age 16; member of all-American team | ||
Awards
1995 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Informational Series in Unsolved Mysteries |
1961 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance By an Actor In a Series (Lead) in The Untouchables |
1960 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance By an Actor In a Series in The Untouchables |
1956 | Academy Award for Actor In a Supporting Role in Written on the Wind |