Obituary: Tige Andrews

Tige Andrews has died. My mother knew him at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts long ago, as I mentioned here.

Tige Andrews; nominated for Emmy

By Valerie J. Nelson, Los Angeles Times | February 3, 2007

LOS ANGELES — Tige Andrews, a character actor who earned an Emmy nomination for portraying Captain Adam Greer, the officer who recruited the undercover police officers of television’s “The Mod Squad,” has died. He was 86.

Mr. Andrews, who often played detectives during a career in television that spanned five decades, died of cardiac arrest Jan. 27 at his longtime home in the San Fernando Valley, his family said.

“Dad was really proud of `The Mod Squad.’ He felt the show made a big difference because it was one of the first television series to address social issues, such as drugs, prostitution, and teen pregnancy, that were more hush-hush before that time,” said Barbara Andrews, one of his six children.

He also loved “working with ‘the kids,’ ” which was how he always referred to the show’s young stars: Clarence Williams III, Michael Cole, and Peggy Lipton, his daughter said.

Mr. Andrews appeared in several episodes of the ABC series that aired from 1968 to 1973.

After seeing Mr. Andrews in “Mister Roberts” on Broadway, director John Ford cast him in the 1955 film version and at least two other projects.

“To us, John Ford was Uncle Plum because Ford loved him and kept giving him more lines here and there,” Barbara Andrews said. “He was a huge influence in his life.”

Mr. Andrews worked on more than 60 television shows, including playing a lead role as tough-talking Lieutenant Russo in “The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor,” which aired from 1959 to 1962.

Tiger Andrews was born in Brooklyn. His immigrant parents, following Syrian custom, named him after a strong animal because it was supposed to ensure good health, his family said. When he was 3 his mother, Selma, died, and his father, George, later remarried. He grew up in a large family in Middlesex, N.J., where his father ran a fruit stand.

During World War II, Mr. Andrews served in the US Army but returned home after being wounded in Sicily.

In an off-Broadway revival of “The Threepenny Opera” that debuted in 1955, he appeared as the Streetsinger, an experience his family said he cherished.

His wife of 46 years, Norma Thornton, was a dancer who appeared regularly on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” She died in 1996.