Charles Dierkop

Charles Dierkop made his first film appearance as an uncredited petty hood in the 1961 Paul Newman pool drama, "The Hustler." His unobtrusive approach meshed well with Newman's style and carried him to decidedly more visible parts in two of the classic megastar's biggest hits-the celebrated con-man comedy "The Sting," which featured Dierkop as the stalwart bodyguard to a gangster, and the seminal buddy western "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" ('69), in which he appeared as a member of the title duo's infamously freewheeling Hole-in-the-Wall Gang. After delivering his boldest movie performance as the third lead in the brutally violent biker exploitation thriller "Angels Hard as They Come," the actor became known to millions of avid television viewers as a man on the other side of the law, playing the shaggy but dedicated detective Pete Royster throughout the entire 1974-'78 run of the Angie Dickinson crime drama, "Police Woman." Kierkop was cast in films including "Messenger of Death" (1988), "Liberty & Bash" (1990), "Roots of Evil" (1992) and "Superguy: Behind the Cape" (2000). Returning to the small screen, he had roles in "James Dean" (TNT, 2001) and the TV movie "Mystery Woman: Wild West Mystery" (2006). Charles Dierkop died on February 25, 2024 in Los Angeles, CA at the age of 87.