Tige Andrews

Tige Andrews
Born	Tiger Andrews March 19, 1920(1920-03-19) Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died	January 27, 2007 (aged 86) Encino, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1950–1991
Spouse(s)	Norma Thornton Andrews (1950–1996; her death)

Tige Andrews (March 19, 1920 – January 27, 2007) was an American character actor. His work includes the role of "Captain Adam Greer" on the television series The Mod Squad.

Life and career

Andrews was reportedly born as Tiger Andrews^[1] in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Syrian parents Selma (née Shaleesh) and George E. Andrews, a shopkeeper. His family's surname was originally "Androwas".^[2] His parents, following Syrian custom, named him after a strong animal to ensure good health.^[3] His mother died when he was three years old, and his father later remarried.^[4] Andrews was wounded in Sicily while serving in the Army during World War II and after returning home, graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.^[4]

In 1955, Andrews won critical acclaim in the off-Broadway revival of The Threepenny Opera, as the Streetsinger and later performed it again in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Andrews went on to direct The Threepenny Opera in Arizona. While in New York, director John Ford cast him in the film version of Mister Roberts after seeing his Broadway performance.^[4] Before moving to California, Tige married Norma Thornton, a ballerina who was a regular in The Ed Sullivan Show. Norma Thornton Andrews died in 1996.

Andrews made frequent appearances on television in the 1960s. In addition to being a cast member of The Phil Silvers Show (1955-57, as Tiger Andrews), Andrews appeared in such shows as The Lawless Years, The Big Valley, The Fugitive, Gunsmoke, Star Trek (as "Kras" in the episode "Friday's Child", where he was the second Klingon ever to appear in that series), and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

Tige Andrews with Mod Squad co-stars, Michael Cole, Peggy Lipton and Clarence Williams III

Andrews's best known roles were "Lieutenant Johnny Russo" on The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor and "Captain Adam Greer" in the police drama The Mod Squad. Andrews received both an Emmy and Golden Globe award nomination, and won a Logie Award for his work on The Mod Squad. Andrews reunited with his fellow Mod Squad cast members for a 1979 made-for-TV movie, Return of the Mod Squad. After the series ended, Andrews continued to make guest appearances on various television series, such as Kojak, Marcus Welby, M.D., Police Story, CHiPs, and Murder, She Wrote. He retired from acting in the early 1990s after appearing in more than 100 acting roles onstage, on film and on television.

In addition to his acting career, Andrews was an accomplished painter and singer. His artwork has been shown in Los Angeles art galleries, and some of it was published in the book Actors As Artists by Jim McMullan and Dick Gautier. He wrote and recorded two singles in the 1970s: "Keep America Beautiful" and "The Mod Father".^[5]

Death

Andrews died of cardiac arrest at his home in Encino, California on January 27, 2007, aged 86.^[6]

References

External links

• Tige Andrews at the Internet Movie Database
• Star Trek Memory-Alpha bio
• Obituary in the Los Angeles Daily News