{{Short description|American actor (1940–2009)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2021}} {{Infobox person | name = Dennis Cole | image = Dennis Cole 1971.JPG | caption = Cole in 1971 | birthname = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1940|07|19}} | birth_place = Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2009|11|15|1940|07|19}} | death_place = Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1961–2006 | spouse = {{plainlist| * {{marriage|Sally Bergeron|1960|1965|end=divorced}} * {{marriage|Jaclyn Smith|1978|1981|end=divorced}} * {{marriage|Marjorie Fritz|2004|2008|end=divorced}} }} | children = Joe Cole }}
'''Dennis Lee Cole''' (July 19, 1940 – November 15, 2009)<ref name=nyt>{{cite news| title=Dennis Cole, 'Felony Squad' Actor, Is Dead at 69| first=Dennis| last=Hevesi| newspaper=The New York Times| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/arts/television/22cole.html| date=November 23, 2009| access-date=November 23, 2009| archive-date=June 30, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630062400/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/arts/television/22cole.html?| url-status=live}}</ref> was an American film and television actor. Cole worked mostly in television, with numerous guest appearances in the 1960s and 1970s.<ref name=emmys>{{cite web| url=https://www.emmys.com/news/news/actor-turned-activist-dennis-cole-dies-florida| title=Actor-turned-Activist Dennis Cole Dies in Florida| website=Television Academy}}</ref> After the 1991 murder of his only son, Joe Cole, he became an activist who spoke against violence on television.
==Career== Cole began performing in his native Detroit and moved to Los Angeles in the 1960s. His bleached-blond, athletic look of a quintessential California surfer earned him the attention of physique magazines.<ref name=thr>{{cite news| url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/felony-squad-actor-dennis-cole-91359| title='Felony Squad' actor Dennis Cole dies| newspaper=The Hollywood Reporter| first=Gregg| last=Kilday| archive-date=December 3, 2017| access-date=December 3, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203224534/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/felony-squad-actor-dennis-cole-91359| url-status=live}}</ref> He worked as a model and stuntman before making the transition to acting.<ref name=emmys/> His first big acting break came when he landed a starring role in the police drama ''Felony Squad'', which ran from 1966 to 1969. He appeared for one season (1969–1970) as Davey Evans in ''Bracken's World''.<ref name=TVGuide>{{cite journal| url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/dennis-cole/credits/147063//| title=Dennis Cole| journal=TV Guide| access-date=January 13, 2019| archive-date=January 14, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190114100552/https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/dennis-cole/credits/147063//| url-status=dead}}</ref> He co-starred with Rod Taylor in the TV series ''Bearcats!'' (1971) and played Lance Prentiss on the TV soap series ''The Young and the Restless'' (1981–82).
Cole made guest appearances in numerous television series, such as ''Medical Center'', ''Police Story'', ''Charlie's Angels'', ''Vega$'', ''The Feather and Father Gang'', ''The Eddie Capra Mysteries'', ''The Love Boat'', The Streets of San Francisco, ''Fantasy Island'', ''Three's Company'', ''Divorce Court'', and ''Murder, She Wrote''.<ref name=TVGuide/> Cole's film career included roles in ''Cave-In!'' (1983), ''Wheels of Fire'' (1985), ''Pretty Smart'' (1987), and the horror film ''Zombie Death House'' (1987). Cole's last television appearance was a 1998 episode of ''Pacific Blue''.{{cn|date=April 2025}}
==Personal life== [[File:Dennis Cole Bracken's World.JPG|thumb|upright|Cole as Davey Evans on ''Bracken's World'', arranging models to film movie stunts]] Cole's first wife was Sally Bergeron, and they had a son Joseph (Joe) who was Dennis's only child.
In 1976 Cole guest-starred on ''Charlie's Angels'' and met actress Jaclyn Smith. After a 19-month courtship, the couple wed. She was his second wife. Their marriage lasted from 1978 to 1981.<ref name=nyt/><ref>{{cite journal| url=https://people.com/archive/charlies-last-available-angel-jaclyn-smith-says-yes-to-dennis-cole-no-to-a-hyphen-vol-10-no-20/| title=Charlie's Last Available Angel, Jaclyn Smith, Says Yes to Dennis Cole, No to a Hyphen| journal=People| first=Cheryl| last=McCall| date=November 13, 1978| access-date=2021-10-26}}</ref>
Joe Cole was shot dead in 1991 at age 30 during a home-invasion robbery in the Venice section of Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite journal| url=http://www.welovesoaps.net/2009/11/dennis-cole-has-passed-at-age-69.html| title=Dennis Cole has passed away at age 69| date=November 17, 2009| first=Roger| last=Newcomb| journal=We Love Soaps| archive-date=March 18, 2014| access-date=March 18, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140318121254/http://www.welovesoaps.net/2009/11/dennis-cole-has-passed-at-age-69.html| url-status=live}}</ref> His murder remains unsolved.<ref name=edwebproject>{{cite journal| title=Primal Scream: Henry Rollins Speaks| url=http://www.edwebproject.org/rollins.html| first1=Andy| last1=Carvin| first2=Chris| last2=Crone| journal=EdWeb Project| archive-date=August 28, 2007| access-date=March 18, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070828051943/http://www.edwebproject.org/rollins.html| url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=dailybreeze>{{cite news| title=Actor Dennis Cole dead at 69| url=http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_13806577| date=November 11, 2009| access-date=November 21, 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091120062221/http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_13806577| archive-date=November 20, 2009| url-status=dead| newspaper=Daily Breeze| location=Hermosa Beach}}</ref> After the murder of his son, Cole became an activist speaking against violence on television. He worked with the Nicole Brown Charitable Foundation to raise awareness for crime victims, and with the American Cancer Society, Arthritis Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and other charitable organizations.<ref name=emmys/><ref name=variety>{{cite news| url=https://variety.com/2009/scene/news/actor-dennis-cole-dies-at-69-1118011417/| title=Actor Dennis Cole dies at 69| newspaper=Variety| date=November 16, 2009| archive-date=December 3, 2017| access-date=January 28, 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203224524/http://variety.com/2009/scene/news/actor-dennis-cole-dies-at-69-1118011417/| url-status=live}}</ref>
==Later years== Dennis was a regular celebrity attendee at the annual Madden Derby Eve party hosted by Anita Madden in Lexington, Kentucky. Dennis was Madden's escort for the event for several years.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Dennis Cole escorts host Anita Madden |pages=https://www.kentucky.com/news/article43937445.html |work=Lexington Herald Leader}}</ref>
Cole performed as the Narrator in a production of ''Blood Brothers'' and as King Marchan in the first national tour of the musical ''Victor/Victoria''. While working on a national tour of ''Victor/Victoria'', Cole was injured and spent three years recovering.<ref name=emmys/><ref name=variety/>
Cole relocated to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 1999, where he became a real-estate broker and opened his own real-estate company with his third wife Marjorie Cole,<ref name=nyt/> whom he married in 2004. The couple owned and operated Celebrity Realty, Inc. The couple divorced in 2008 after claims of domestic violence that eventually resulted in Cole's arrest for obstruction of justice.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.city-data.com/profiles/8534| title=Celebrity Realty, Inc. in Fort Lauderdale, Florida| website=City-data| access-date=2021-10-26}}</ref><ref name=thr/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Dennis Cole Busted. Wait -- Who's Dennis Cole? |url=https://www.tmz.com/2007/11/02/dennis-cole-busted-wait-whos-dennis-cole/ |access-date=2022-11-11 |website=TMZ |language=en |archive-date=November 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221111152828/https://www.tmz.com/2007/11/02/dennis-cole-busted-wait-whos-dennis-cole/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Death== Cole died of kidney failure at Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on November 15, 2009. He was 69 years old. Cole was buried at the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.<ref name=thr/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Portal|Biography}} {{Commons category|Dennis Cole}} * {{IMDb name}} * {{IBDB name}} * {{Find a Grave}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Dennis}} Category:1940 births Category:2009 deaths Category:American male film actors Category:American male musical theatre actors Category:American male soap opera actors Category:American male television actors Category:Deaths from kidney failure in Florida Category:Male actors from Detroit Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Category:20th-century American male actors Category:20th-century American singers Category:20th-century American male singers