James Sikking, the TV and film actor who starred in the series “Hill Street Blues” and “Doogie Howser, M.D.,” has died.
Sikking died Saturday of complications of dementia, his publicist, Cynthia Snyder, confirmed in a statement Sunday evening. He was 90.
The Los Angeles-raised character actor “was one of the kindest, wisest, funniest and most generous people I’ve ever known,” Sikking’s “Doogie” co-star Neil Patrick Harris said in a tribute shared Monday on social media.
Harris, who played Sikking’s character‘s son, the show’s titular medical prodigy, added: “A true professional. He treated everyone with respect, taught me countless lessons, yet always had a spark of mischief in his eyes. It was an absolute honor to be his son. My condolences to his actual family for their loss.”
Sikking enjoyed a varied professional acting career that lasted nearly 60 years and included appearances in popular series “Starsky and Hutch,” “MASH,” “Columbo,” “General Hospital” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” Starring roles in the series “Hill Street Blues” and “Doogie Howser, M.D.,” however, were Sikking’s claims to fame.
By the early ’80s, Sikking had established quite the track record for portraying law enforcement and authority figures onscreen. With the dynamic NBC police procedural “Hill Street Blues,” he leaned into this type even more. From 1981 to 1987, Sikking starred as Lt. Howard Hunter, a Vietnam War veteran who was the head of an emergency action team.
The lieutenant’s uptight demeanor was often played for laughs but was rooted in Sikking’s own experience with a drill instructor when he was a student at UCLA in the late 1950s.
“The drill instructor looked like he had steel for hair and his uniform had so much starch in it, you knew it would sit in the corner when he took it off in the barracks,” he told the Fresno Bee in 2014.
“Hill Street Blues,” from writers Steven Bochco and Michael Kozoll, won 26 primetime Emmy Awards during its run. Sikking earned a supporting actor Emmy nomination in 1984 but lost to co-star Bruce Weltz, who played Sgt. Mick Belker.
Amid his “Hill Street Blues” tenure, Sikking also enjoyed a busy film career, including “Ordinary People,” “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock” and “Morons From Outer Space.”
Sikking and Bochco reunited shortly after “Hill Street Blues” for “Doogie Howser, M.D.” He starred as Dr. David Howser, the father of Harris’ wunderkind, a Vietnam War vet who pursued a practice of his own. The series aired on ABC from 1989 to 1993 and won three primetime Emmys.
After “Doogie Howser, M.D.,” Sikking appeared in supporting roles on the series “Brooklyn South” and “Invasion America” but also turned his attention to film and TV movies, including “In Pursuit of Honor,” “Dare to Love,” “Mutiny” and “Made of Honor.” He most recently appeared in the film “Just an American” and the TV series “The Closer,” both in 2012.
Sikking was born March 5, 1934, in Los Angeles and graduated from UCLA in 1959. He married Florine Caplan, with whom he had two children and four grandchildren.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
