Nightstalker and Christmas Story Star Dead at 83
"McGavin, 83, died Saturday of natural causes at a Los Angeles-area hospital with his family at his side, said his son Bogart McGavin.
"McGavin also had leading roles in TV’s 'Riverboat' and cult favorite 'Kolchak: The Night Stalker.' Among his memorable portrayals was Gen. George Patton in the 1979 TV biography 'Ike.'
"Despite his busy career in television, McGavin was awarded only one Emmy: in 1990 for an appearance as Candice Bergen’s opinionated father in an episode of 'Murphy Brown.'
"He lacked the prominence in films he enjoyed in television, but he registered strongly in featured roles such as the young artist in Venice in "Summertime,' David Lean’s 1955 film with Katharine Hepburn and Rosanno Brazzi; Frank Sinatra’s crafty drug supplier in 'The Man with the Golden Arm' (1955); Jerry Lewis’s parole officer in 'The Delicate Delinquent' (1957); and the gambler in 1984’s 'The Natural.' He also starred alongside Don Knotts, who died Friday night, in the 1976 family comedy 'No Deposit, No Return.'"
