fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

Ronald Alan Masak (July 1, 1936 – October 20, 2022) was an American actor. He began as a stage performer, and much of his work was in theater until he transitioned to film and television, where he became a familiar character actor. From 1988 to 1996, Masak played the recurring role Sheriff Mort Metzger in the CBS mystery series Murder, She Wrote starring Angela Lansbury, who predeceased him by only 9 days.[1]

Ron Masak
Masak in 1973
Born	Ronald Alan Masak (1936-07-01)July 1, 1936 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	October 20, 2022(2022-10-20) (aged 86) Thousand Oaks, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1959–2022
Spouse	Kay Knebes ​ (m. 1961)​
Children	6
Relatives	Michael Gross (cousin) Mary Gross (cousin)

Masak's early television appears includes roles on The Twilight Zone, Get Smart, The Monkees, I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. From 1970 to 1973 he appeared in the ABC anthology comedy series Love, American Style. He then starred in another ABC series, Love Thy Neighbor (1973). He then earned roles in the NBC crime series Police Story (1975-1978), and in the ABC sitcom Webster (1983-1989).

From 1988 to 1996, Masak portrayed the recurring role of Sheriff Mort Metzger of Cabot Cove in Murder, She Wrote, taking over for Tom Bosley's Sheriff Amos Tupper. During this time he also guest starred on various shows such as Rockford Files, Quincy M.E., Magnum P.I., and Diff'rent Strokes. He's also known for his film roles in Ice Station Zebra (1968), Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970), and Harper Valley PTA (1978).

Early life

Masak was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Floyd Louis Masak and Mildred Alice (Rudy) Masak.[2] His mother was of Irish descent and his father of Czech Bohemian descent. His paternal great-grandfather, Karel Masák (1861-1899), was an immigrant from Zvěrkovice near Týn nad Vltavou.[3][4][5][6]

Career

Film

The Army provided Masak with a platform from which to display his all-around talents for performing, writing and directing. In 1960-61, he toured the world doing vocal impressions in the all-Army show entitled "Rolling Along".^{[citation needed]}

In 1968, he appeared alongside Vince Lombardi in the short film, Second Effort.[7][8] That same year, he also appeared in a supporting role in the submarine action film Ice Station Zebra.

In addition to two guest appearances on the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie, he also had a role in the pilot film for "Jeannie" star Barbara Eden's subsequent series Harper Valley PTA and worked again with "Jeannie" co-star Larry Hagman in an episode of the crime series The Rockford Files.[9]

Television

Masak's first screen role was as the Harmonica Man in "The Purple Testament", an episode of The Twilight Zone in 1960.[10] Masak appeared as "Mike the boxer" on The Flying Nun, season 1, episode 26 ("Where There's a Will"), which first aired March 13, 1968. Masak appeared as "Officer #2" on Bewitched, Season 7, Episode 4 ("Samantha's Hot Bedwarmer"), first aired on October 15, 1970, he also appeared in season 5 episode 25 as an ice cream shop manager which aired in 1969, (“Samantha’s Power Failure), and in “Irving Bates, Sr.” in Season 6, Episode 23 (“Just a Kid Again”).

Masak had a guest appearance as Beauregard Jackson in the episode "Hurricane" on Land of the Lost. He appeared in the second season of Barney Miller episode of "The Horse Thief" as officer Shriker and was a guest star in the "Welcome Home, Vince" episode of The Feather and Father Gang in 1977 and in the episode "The Two-Million-Dollar Stowaway" of The Eddie Capra Mysteries in 1978. In 1981, he guest starred on the Magnum, P.I. episode "Skin Deep". He also guest starred on an episode of Quincy, M.E..[11]

Masak was perhaps best known for a recurring role on Murder, She Wrote as the Cadillac convertible-driving Sheriff, Mort Metzger of Cabot Cove, a role which he played from 1988 to 1996. Masak did make appearances as two other characters in the series, in "Footnote to Murder" as Lt. Lyle Meyer and in "No Accounting for Murder" as Marty Giles. By coincidence, he died just nine days after the passing of the show's main star, Angela Lansbury.[12]

In the 1980s and early 1990s, he was dubbed "The King of Commercials" for his many commercials, including voice-over work, most notably for a Vlasic pickles ad.[13] From 1982 to 1983, he voiced "Meatballs" on the CBS cartoon series Meatballs & Spaghetti. He did the voice for Veteran Holt in the video game Medal of Honor: European Assault.

In 1990, Masak was a panelist on the revival of the television game show, To Tell the Truth, and appeared on several other game shows as a panelist (including Match Game, Password Plus, and Super Password). Masak appeared as Eddie Fenelle, a taxi driver, in the Columbo episode Ashes to Ashes (1998).

Personal life and death

Masak married Kay Knebes in September 1961; together they had six children.[14] He was also the first cousin of actor Michael Gross of Family Ties and former Saturday Night Live cast member Mary Gross.

Masak was honorary sheriff of Tarzana, California, for 35 years.[15]

On October 20, 2022, Masak died in Thousand Oaks, California, at the age of 86.[14]

Selected filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1959	Police Station		TV series
1968	The Monkees	Count Dracula	1 episode
	Ice Station Zebra	Paul Zabrinczski
	Second Effort	Ron
1969	Daddy's Gone A-Hunting	Paul Fleming	Uncredited
	A Time for Dying	Sam, the Bartender
1970	Tora! Tora! Tora!	Lt. Laurence Ruff - USS Nevada
1971	Evel Knievel	Pete
	The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker	1st Baseball Fan
1975	Lucky Lady	voice
	The Man from Clover Grove	Claude Raintree
1976	Woman in the Rain
1978	Laserblast	Sheriff
	Harper Valley PTA	Herbie Maddox
1982	The Neighborhood	Nick Riccardo	TV movie
1983	Dragster	Yankee Announcer Mel Allen	Uncredited
1988-1996	Murder, She Wrote	Sheriff Mort Metzger	recurring role; 39 episodes
1985	Diff’rent Strokes	Ray
1989	Listen to Me	Monica's Father
1995	Cops n Roberts	Vince Palermo
1998	No Code of Conduct	Julian Disanto
2000	The Thundering 8th	Spike Sills
2002	The Stoneman	Detective Lt. J.D. Hill
	The Making of Bret Michaels	Himself
2006	The Benchwarmers	Principal
2014	My Trip Back to the Dark Side	Mr. James Griffin

References

External links

• Ron Masak at IMDb
• Ron Masak discography at Discogs

---