Bernie Hamilton
Best known for his portrayal of station boss Captain Harold C. Dobey on the 1970s television hit, "Starsky and Hutch," Bernie Hamilton first discovered his love for acting while attending Oakland Technical high school in California. With him at school was his older brother Chico, who would later become an influential jazz drummer. Hamilton's first break came when he was cast as a baseball player in "The Jackie Robinson Story." After playing several black stereotypes in the 1950s, Hamilton landed his first artistically rewarding role as a wisecracking jazz musician in Luis Buñuel's 1960 film, "The Young One." His newfound reputation as a talented dramatic actor led to Hamilton's most challenging character of his career: the black husband to a white woman in the emotionally charged and controversial 1964 drama, "One Potato, Two Potato." After he became a household name wrangling two notoriously reckless cops on "Starsky and Hutch," Hamilton only acted occasionally while producing R&B, gospel, and blues music through his record label, Chocolate Snowman. He even released an album featuring his own singing, titled "Captain Dobey Sings the Blues." In 1985, Hamilton retired from acting and focused on operating his Sunset Boulevard nightclub, Citadel d'Haiti, until his death in 2008.
Photos
Bernie Hamilton
Filmography
Movies
Credit | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
40% |
|
Bucktown | Harley (Character) | - | 1975 |
29% |
|
Scream Blacula Scream | Ragman (Character) | - | 1973 |
No Score Yet |
|
Hammer | Davis (Character) | - | 1972 |
25% |
|
The Organization | Lt. Jessop (Character) | - | 1971 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Losers | Capt. Jackson (Character) | - | 1970 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | A Clear and Present Danger | House (Character) | - | 1970 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Stranger on the Run | Dickory (Character) | - | 1967 |
100% |
|
One Potato, Two Potato | Frank Richards (Character) | - | 1964 |
No Score Yet |
|
Captain Sindbad | Quinius (Character) | - | 1963 |
80% |
|
The Devil at 4 O'Clock | Charlie (Character) | - | 1961 |
100% |
|
The Young One | Traver (Character) | - | 1960 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Congo Crossing | Pompala (Character) | - | 1956 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Mysterious Island | Neb (Character) | - | 1951 |
63% |
|
The Jackie Robinson Story | Ernie (Character) | - | 1950 |
TV
Credit | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1980 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Starsky and Hutch | Capt. Harold Dobey (Character) | 1975-1979 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | That's My Mama! | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1975 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Six Million Dollar Man | Lt. Dobbs (Guest Star) | 1975 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Police Story | Bo Tate (Character) | 1973 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Sanford and Son | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1973 |
No Score Yet | 85% | All in the Family | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1973 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Name of the Game | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1969 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Tarzan | Chaka (Guest Star) | 1967-1968 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Cimarron Strip | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1968 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Unknown (Character) | 1964 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Dick Van Dyke Show | Officer Nelson (Guest Star) | 1963 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Cain's Hundred | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1961 |
92% | 96% | The Twilight Zone | Coley (Character) | 1961 |
No Score Yet | 87% | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Unknown (Character) | 1960 |