Michael Cole, the star who played Pete Cochran in the movie The Mod Squad, he died, Fox News Digital confirmed. He was 84 years old.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cole died at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center on Tuesday. No cause of death was provided.
A representative for Cole told Variety that he died “peacefully this morning, surrounded by his loved ones, having lived a full and vibrant life.”
Michael Cole, who starred in The Mod Squad, has died. (Getty Images)
Cole is best known for his role as one of three young detectives ABC “MoD Squad” from 1968 to 1973. The series also starred Peggy Lipton and Clarence Williams III.
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The actor was born on July 3, 1940 and grew up in Madison, Wisconsin. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cole never knew his father. Cole, his older brother, and his mother lived at his grandmother's house during his early years.
According to the outlet, Cole started drinking when he was 12 and was familiar with getting into trouble. At the age of sixteen, he dropped out of high school and married his girlfriend, who was pregnant with their first child. The former couple had two children, Kandi and Jeff, before getting divorced.
Michael Cole played Pete Cochran in The Mod Squad. (ABC Photo Archive/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
Michael Cole, pictured in this 1993 photo, was 84 when he died on Tuesday. (Vinnie Zofante/Getty Images)
Cole left Wisconsin and moved to Las Vegas, where he met Bobby Darin, a singer and actor at the time. Cole then moved to Los Angeles and lived down a freeway, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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Then he met acting coach Estelle Harman, who had a huge influence on his life. Cole said in 2018 that Harman “knew what was there before I did.” She gave him free acting lessons and allowed him to sleep on the bed on her workshop stage, the outlet reported.
It wasn't until several years later that producer Aaron Spelling contacted Cole to offer him a role in The Mod Squad.
Clarence Williams III and Michael Cole in The Mod Squad. (ABC Photo Archive/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
Cole detailed this encounter in his 2018 book, “I Played The White Guy.”
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“I resisted accepting the role when Spelling offered it to me, telling him, '(The show) sounds stupid, and I hope it never gets on the air,'” Cole wrote to The Hollywood Reporter. “I didn't want to play the guy who snitched on some troubled kids.” others.”
Michael Cole in the episode “The Color of Laughter” that aired on October 12, 1971. (ABC Photo Archive/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
“The Mod Squad” aired for 123 episodes over five seasons. During his time on the show, Cole was involved in a serious car accident that sent him flying through his car's windshield. He required 130 stitches, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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Cole is survived by his third wife, Shelley Funes.
