Dennis Cole

A muscle-bound star of TV and film who fell just short of attaining leading man billing in the 1970s, actor Dennis Cole had the makings of a successful Hollywood action hero: all-American good looks and a chiseled physique. A former athletic model who'd previously graced the covers of muscle magazines, Cole began his screen career as a film stuntman and occasional extra. His blonde locks and model looks took center stage when, in 1966, he landed the lead role of rookie cop Jim Briggs on the detective drama "Felony Squad." Cole's rise to TV stardom came swiftly on the back of the show's three-season run, and the actor racked up even more screen credits during the 1970s, playing similarly hunky characters on the short-lived dramas "Bearcats!" and "Bracken's World." After a high-profile marriage and divorce to "Charlie's Angels" star Jaclyn Smith in the late '70s, Cole starred in several low-budget action films that did nothing to raise his already flagging reputation as a one-time screen stud. Cole experienced a devastating personal setback when, in 1991, his only son Joey was murdered during a robbery attempt. After the tragedy, the actor shunned projects containing violence, leaving few viable roles for the former action star. Cole retired from acting in the early '00s and started a real estate business in Florida shortly before his death from renal failure in 2009.