Ed Peck

Ed Peck (March 26, 1917 – September 12, 1992) was an American actor born in New York, New York. Over the course of a career spanning more than three decades, he built a reputation for portraying police officers and military figures in television and film, work that began in 1951 and continued through 1983.

Peck's Broadway career brought him to the stage in 1955, when he appeared in the comedy No Time for Sergeants, playing a captain in the production. That same period saw him active in early television, including a stint as announcer on The Jack Carson Show, an NBC variety program that ran in 1953 and 1954. Earlier in his television work, in 1951, he had taken over the title role of Major Dell Conway of the Flying Tigers on the DuMont Television Network, replacing Eric Fleming in the part.

His television credits accumulated steadily across the following decades. He guest-starred on numerous series, among them The Untouchables, Perry Mason, The Fugitive, Kentucky Jones, Get Smart, Gunsmoke, Cannon, Bonanza, and Star Trek, appearing in the 1967 episode "Tomorrow Is Yesterday." In 1969 he appeared as a hotel manager in the Virginian episode "Journey to Scathelock." He portrayed Officer Clark, a tenant in a New York City apartment building, in the summer 1972 situation comedy The Super, and played Captain McDermott, the governor's director of security, in multiple episodes of Benson. On The Dick Van Dyke Show he appeared in two episodes, taking on the roles of a rabbi and Captain Worwick. He also played a police officer in at least one episode of All in the Family and appeared in two episodes of Barney Miller as patrolman Frank Slater.

Among his film appearances were Bullitt, Heaven Can Wait, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, and Cheech and Chong's Next Movie. His most prominent and sustained role came late in his career, when he joined the cast of Happy Days as Officer Kirk, a recurring character he portrayed from 1975 to 1983. He retired from acting following his departure from that series.

On January 20, 1952, Peck married advertising copywriter Phyllis Houston in New York. He died of a heart attack on September 12, 1992, in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 75.