Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes
Bernie Hamilton

Bernie Hamilton

Highest Rated: 100% One Potato, Two Potato (1964)

Lowest Rated: 25% The Organization (1971)

Birthday: Jun 12, 1928

Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, USA

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.

Highest rated movies

100% 65% One Potato, Two Potato
100% 78% The Young One
80% 55% The Devil at 4 O'Clock
63% 49% The Jackie Robinson Story
40% 51% Bucktown
29% 37% Scream Blacula Scream
25% 29% The Organization

Filmography

Movies

Credit
40% 51% Bucktown Harley (Character) - 1975
29% 37% Scream Blacula Scream Ragman (Character) - 1973
No Score Yet 26% Hammer Davis (Character) - 1972
25% 29% The Organization Lt. Jessop (Character) - 1971
No Score Yet 44% 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% 65% One Potato, Two Potato Frank Richards (Character) - 1964
No Score Yet 32% Captain Sindbad Quinius (Character) - 1963
80% 55% The Devil at 4 O'Clock Charlie (Character) - 1961
100% 78% 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% 49% 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 89% 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