Character Actor Ken Lynch 1990 San Fernando Mission Cemetery

Kenneth E. "Ken" Lynch (July 15, 1910 – February 13, 1990) was an American radio, film, and TV actor with more than 180 credits to his name. He was generally known for portraying law enforcement officers and detectives. He may have been best known for his starring role as 'the Lieutenant' on Dumont detective series The Plainclothesman (1949–54), on which his face was never seen, and for his co-starring role as Sergeant Grover on McCloud.[1]

 Plainclothesman

Career

He made his acting debut in 1940 on The Bishop and the Gargoyle radio series. He played the Gargoyle, replacing Milton Herman, who had previously portrayed the character. From 1942–46, he provided the voice of "Tank," the mechanic, who aides the title character in Hop Harrigan. In 1950, he starred in One Thousand Dollars Reward, a rare crime drama, where after the crime play had ended, the host would place a call to a random listener, who would try to solve the mystery. He also appeared on the radio shows The Falcon, 21st Precinct and Gunsmoke.

In 1952, Lynch played both Christopher Gard and Steve Lacey in Cafe Istanbul on CBS radio.[2]

From 1949 to 1954, Lynch starred in The Plainclothesman on the DuMont Television Network.[3] He appeared in numerous TV series. He made three guest appearances on Perry Mason, including the role of Wallace Lang in "The Case of the Stuttering Bishop" in 1959, and Robert Hayden in "The Case of the Irate Inventor" in 1960. 

The Andy Griffith Show 

The Dick Van Dyke Show

The Big Valley 

The Wild Wild West

Star Trek

He also appeared on Peter Gunn, Zorro, Have Gun - Will Travel ("Love of a bad woman"), Checkmate ("Cyanide Touch"), The Asphalt Jungle, The Honeymooners, The Fugitive, The Andy Griffith Show, Blue Light, Adam-12, Star Trek ("The Devil in the Dark"), The Wild, Wild West, The Dick Van Dyke Show, All In The Family, The Twilight Zone, The Rifleman, The Big Valley, and Maverick. In the 1970s he made 16 guest appearances in the TV series McCloud. He previously appeared in 12 episodes of Gunsmoke, ten episodes of The F.B.I., nine episodes of Bonanza, and six episodes in both The Virginian and Gomer Pyle, USMC. Among the feature films in which he appeared are I Married a Monster from Outer Space, North By Northwest, The Lawbreakers, Pork Chop Hill, Anatomy of a Murder and Tora! Tora! Tora!. His last role was in the 1983 miniseries The Winds of War.

Death

Lynch died from a virus on February 13, 1990 in Burbank, California at the age of 79. Ken and his wife Catherine are buried at San Fernando Mission Cemetery. 

Filmography

When Willie Comes Marching Home (1950) - (uncredited)
Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) - Frank (uncredited)
Young and Wild (1958) - David Whitman
The Bonnie Parker Story (1958) - Cook
Man or Gun (1958) - Buckstorm Corley
Voice in the Mirror (1958) - Frank - Bartender
I Married a Monster from Outer Space (1958) - Dr. Wayne
Unwed Mother (1958) - Ray Curtis
Paratroop Command (1959) - The Lieutenant
Pork Chop Hill (1959) - Maj. Gen. Trudeau
Anatomy of a Murder (1959) - Det. Sgt. James Durgo
The Legend of Tom Dooley (1959) - Father

North by Northwest (1959) - Charlie - Chicago Policeman, one of the two police officers who take Cary Grant to the airport after the auction scene.
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1960) - Harry Ralston
Seven Ways from Sundown (1960) - Graves
Portrait of a Mobster (1961) - Lieutenant D. Corbin
The Honeymoon Machine (1961) - Capt. James Angle
Walk on the Wild Side (1962) - Frank Bonito
Days of Wine and Roses (1962) - Proprietor (uncredited)
Dead Ringer (1964) - Captain Johnson
Apache Rifles (1964) - Hodges
Dear Heart (1964) - The Masher
Mister Buddwing (1966) - Dan
Hotel (1967) - Joe Laswell
P.J. (1968) - Thorson
Never a Dull Moment (1968) - Police Lieutenant (uncredited)
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) - Rear Adm. John H. Newton - USS Lexington (uncredited)
Across 110th Street (1972) - Tailor Shop Patrolman
Bard Charleston Charlie (1973) - Sheriff Koontz
Willie Dynamite (1974) - Judge #1
W (1974) - Guard

References

1. The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Ballantine Books. 2003. pp. 758, 940. ISBN 0-345-45542-8.
2. Dunning, John. (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. P. 130.
3. Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010. McFarland and Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7. Pp. 838-839.