Sidney Clute

A veteran character actor who made over 100 television guest appearances, Sidney Clute started climbing the rungs of show business with numerous uncredited roles in such 1950s films as "Mohawk," "The Big Heat," and "The Best Years of Our Lives." After landing a spot on an episode of the long-running Western "Gunsmoke" entitled "Young Man with a Gun," the actor experienced a steady flux of one-off and recurring parts on such detective and adventure series as "Dragnet," "Kojak," "Mannix," "Ironside," and "77 Sunset Strip." Willing and more than able to branch out to other genres, Clute soon appeared on the emergency-response dramas "Adam-12" and "Ben Casey" and the classic comedies "Bewitched" and "Mary Tyler Moore." While his gig on "Moore" led to a recurring role as the National Editor on the newsroom spin-off "Lou Grant," it was the tried-and-true detective genre that took Clute to his most widely recognized role, as Det. Paul La Guardia on the 1980s female-duo action drama "Cagney & Lacey." Although the actor died at the start of the show's fourth season, his name remained on the opening credits until the series' end. Clute also made occasional film appearances in such late-'60s and '70s movies as "Breakout," "...And Justice for All.," and "I Love You, Alice B. Toklas!."