This month is all about our favorite characters. Richard Slattery definitely fits the bill.

Born in New York in 1925, Slattery attended Blessed Sacrament grade school and then graduated from All Hallows High School before attending Fordham University under a track and football scholarship. At one point, he seriously considered attending seminary to become a Jesuit priest. During WWII, he left school to join the US Air Force, serving as a lieutenant in the Pacific Theater.

After returning home, he became a police officer in 1947, working in New York until 1958. His father was a policeman, so it was a natural fit for him. He worked in several precincts including the tough 41^st station in the Bronx and as a plainclothes man for a vice squad.

He appeared in a few police academy training films at a community theater in the Bronx which gave him the acting bug. While working as a cop, he also appeared in several off-Broadway productions, finally making it to a Broadway show in 1961. About that time he asked for a year’s leave of absence from his police duty to see if he could make acting a paid profession. He never returned to the force.

For three decades from the sixties through the eighties, you could see him on many of your favorite shows. His first television episode was Deadline in 1959 and his last was in Dragnet in 1990. In between he appeared in 82 different series.

Most of his roles were as policemen. Forty-eight of his 108 credits were for a policeman or military man including the three shows he joined as a cast member. In 1962 he was Sgt McKenna on The Gallant Men for 26 episodes. The description for this show on imdb is “The 36th infantry is fighting its way through Italy under the spirited leadership of Captain Jim Benedict. His men include flirt D’Angelo, who carries his guitar along, plus pals Lucavich and Hanson. McKenna is the free-wheeling Sergeant.”

In 1965 he took on Captain Morton for 30 episodes on Mister Roberts, which is described as “Lt. Roberts is far from the war action while stationed on The Reluctant, a cargo ship. While trying to get transferred he must also deal with irascible Captain Morton while trying to reign in the impulsive Ensign Pulver.”

His last regular role was in 1977 when he joined CPO Sharkey as Captain Buckner for 22 episodes. This one starred Don Rickles as an acid-tongued officer who is verbally abusive to his men, a band of misfits, even though it’s obvious he cares for them and wants them to succeed. I remember watching, or trying to watch this one, when it aired. It was just too hard hitting for me, at least at that time. However, Rickles was always too vicious for me as a comic also.

Another role Slattery was known for was Murph the gas station attendant for Union 76 gasoline station ads for 17 years.

Slattery followed the formula of the third time being the charm in his marriages. In 1958 he married actress Pegeen Rose, and they were together for a decade. In 1970 he tried again with Mary Shelquist, and they made it 9 years. In 1988 he married Helene Vergauwen and they were together until his death nine years later. He was buried at sea off the coast of Catalina Island.

Catalina Island was his home for the last decade or so of his life. He and his wife owned several shops including Sea Rags and Driftless gift stores, Boots and Straps shoe store, and Murph’s Wok Away Chinese take out. He was part of the men’s club and the theater on the Island. He also was an avid golfer and is often mentioned in the paper at celebrity tournaments or golfing with friends. The one sport he didn’t do on the Island was boating! He got sea sick and did not even own a boat.

While he definitely was often typecast as a policeman, it is what he did for his first career for more than a decade. I’m glad he got the chance to become an actor. I’m even more glad that although he died at a young 71 years of age, he was able to enjoy life on the Island after his retirement.