Michael George Ansara (April 15, 1922 â€" July 31, 2013) was an
American stage, screen, and voice actor. He portrayed Cochise in the
television series Broken Arrow, Kane in the 1979â€"1981 series Buck
Rogers in the 25th Century, Commander Kang in four episodes of the
Star Trek television series, Deputy U.S. Marshal Sam Buckhart in the
NBC series Law of the Plainsman, and provided the voice for Mr. Freeze
in Batman: The Animated Series and several of its spin-offs.Michael
George Ansara was born in a small village in the Mandate for Syria and
the Lebanon, and his family emigrated to the United States when he was
two years old. He was of Lebanese descent. They lived in Lowell,
Massachusetts, for a decade before moving to California. He originally
wanted to be a physician, but developed a passion for becoming a
performer after he began taking acting classes at Pasadena Playhouse
to overcome his shyness. He was educated at Los Angeles City College,
from which Ansara earned an Associate of Arts degree. Ansara served as
a medic in the army during World War II.During the 1950s, Ansara
appeared in several episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. He appeared
in a 1951 episode of The Lone Ranger titled "Trouble at Black Rock."
In 1953, he appeared as Pindarus in Joseph Mankiewicz' big screen
adaptation of Julius Caesar, with Marlon Brando, James Mason and John
Gielgud. However, the popular television series Broken Arrow (1956),
wherein he played the lead role of Cochise, raised Ansara's profile
and made him a household name. While making the series, the 20th
Century-Fox publicity department arranged a date between Ansara and
actress Barbara Eden. The two later married and Ansara guest-starred
on Eden's sitcom I Dream of Jeannie as the Blue Djinn. He also played
King Kamehameha in the Jeannie episode "The Battle of Waikīkī", and
in the final season, he played Major Biff Jellico in the episode "My
Sister, the Home Wrecker". Ansara and Eden divorced in 1974. The
couple had one son together, actor Matthew Ansara, who died on June
25, 2001, of a heroin overdose.Ansara starred in his own ABC-TV
series, Law of the Plainsman (1959â€"1960), with Gina Gillespie and
Robert Harland. He performed as an Apache Indian named Sam Buckhart,
who had been appointed as a U.S. Marshal. The series began as an
episode of The Rifleman.
American stage, screen, and voice actor. He portrayed Cochise in the
television series Broken Arrow, Kane in the 1979â€"1981 series Buck
Rogers in the 25th Century, Commander Kang in four episodes of the
Star Trek television series, Deputy U.S. Marshal Sam Buckhart in the
NBC series Law of the Plainsman, and provided the voice for Mr. Freeze
in Batman: The Animated Series and several of its spin-offs.Michael
George Ansara was born in a small village in the Mandate for Syria and
the Lebanon, and his family emigrated to the United States when he was
two years old. He was of Lebanese descent. They lived in Lowell,
Massachusetts, for a decade before moving to California. He originally
wanted to be a physician, but developed a passion for becoming a
performer after he began taking acting classes at Pasadena Playhouse
to overcome his shyness. He was educated at Los Angeles City College,
from which Ansara earned an Associate of Arts degree. Ansara served as
a medic in the army during World War II.During the 1950s, Ansara
appeared in several episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. He appeared
in a 1951 episode of The Lone Ranger titled "Trouble at Black Rock."
In 1953, he appeared as Pindarus in Joseph Mankiewicz' big screen
adaptation of Julius Caesar, with Marlon Brando, James Mason and John
Gielgud. However, the popular television series Broken Arrow (1956),
wherein he played the lead role of Cochise, raised Ansara's profile
and made him a household name. While making the series, the 20th
Century-Fox publicity department arranged a date between Ansara and
actress Barbara Eden. The two later married and Ansara guest-starred
on Eden's sitcom I Dream of Jeannie as the Blue Djinn. He also played
King Kamehameha in the Jeannie episode "The Battle of Waikīkī", and
in the final season, he played Major Biff Jellico in the episode "My
Sister, the Home Wrecker". Ansara and Eden divorced in 1974. The
couple had one son together, actor Matthew Ansara, who died on June
25, 2001, of a heroin overdose.Ansara starred in his own ABC-TV
series, Law of the Plainsman (1959â€"1960), with Gina Gillespie and
Robert Harland. He performed as an Apache Indian named Sam Buckhart,
who had been appointed as a U.S. Marshal. The series began as an
episode of The Rifleman.
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