Jon Cypher

Not to be confused with Jon Cryer.

Jon Cypher (born January 13, 1932) is an American actor and singer. He is best known as playing Chief of Police Fletcher Daniels in Hill Street Blues throughout the series' run. He is also known for his work in Cinderella, As the World Turns, Major Dad, Probe, Law & Order, and Santa Barbara. He has also performed several times on Broadway, particularly in musical theatre.

Jon Cypher
Born	(1932-01-13) January 13, 1932 (age 92) New York City
Education	Erasmus Hall High School
Alma mater	Brooklyn College
Occupation(s)	Actor, singer
Years active	1957–present
Spouse(s)	Ruth Wagner (m. 1965; div. 1975) Carol Rosin

Early life and education

Born in New York City, Cypher graduated from Erasmus Hall High School (1949) and Brooklyn College (1953).

Cypher later received a master's degree in marriage and family counseling from the University of Vermont.^[1]

Career

Cypher made his television debut as the Prince in the original 1957 production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella opposite Julie Andrews in the title role. He is particularly remembered as Chief of Police Fletcher Daniels in Hill Street Blues, a role he played throughout the run of the series (1981–87). He played Commanding General Marcus Craig on Major Dad, alongside Gerald McRaney and Beverly Archer, and appeared as Howard Millhouse in the short-lived television series Probe. He played Dr. Alex Keith on As the World Turns (1977–79) and Dr. Arthur Donnelly on Santa Barbara (1988–89).

Other television credits include the recurring roles of Belson in The F.B.I., Dirk Maurier in Dynasty, Eric Brandon in Marcus Welby, M.D., and Jeff Munson in Knots Landing. He also provided the voice of comic villain Spellbinder in the animated television series Batman Beyond.^[2]

Cypher made his first film appearance as the villain Frank Tanner in the 1971 Western Valdez Is Coming opposite Burt Lancaster and Susan Clark. He took on the role of the heroic Man-At-Arms in the 1987 film Masters of the Universe. He also starred in an episode of Barnaby Jones entitled "Dangerous Gambit" which originally aired on February 26, 1976. Cypher has since appeared periodically in films up through the late 1990s in mostly featured character parts.

Cypher had an active career on the stage in both musicals and plays. In 1956 he appeared at Denver's Elitch Theatre, as the leading man for the summer stock cast, where productions included The Rainmaker, Noël Coward's Tonight at 8.30, and The Chalk Garden.

He made his Broadway debut as Wister LaSalle in the original 1959 production of Harvey Breit's The Disenchanted. He returned to Broadway in 1962 to replace Patrick O'Neal as the Reverend T. Lawrence Shannon in the original production of Tennessee Williams's The Night of the Iguana. He portrayed the role of Dr. Carrasco in the original 1965 cast of Man of La Mancha, later taking over the role of Don Quixote.

In 1967, he performed the role of Bert Jefferson in the original musical Sherry! by James Lipton and Laurence Rosenthal. His other Broadway credits include The Great White Hope, 1776, Coco, and Big: The Musical.

Between 1990 and 1993 he appeared in 69 episodes of the CBS hit comedy TV show Major Dad, where he played Brigadier General Marcus C. Craig ^[3]

On July 20, 1992 Cypher suffered an injury during a dress rehearsal at the Benedum Center in Pittsburgh. He was preparing for an appearance as Fagin in the Civic Light Opera production of Oliver! when he fell down a darkened stairway at the theater, breaking his leg in two places and damaging cartilage and ligaments. The incident left Cypher playing the character while seated in a wheelchair. He sued the theater and a performance company in Pittsburgh for $20,000.^[4] In a 2013 interview, Cypher revealed he still walked with a cane.^[5]

In a 2014 interview, he stated that poverty was the secret to his 47-year-long career.^[6]

Personal life

Cypher was married to Ruth Wagner from 1965 to 1975. After they divorced, he married scientist Carol Rosin.

Credits

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1971	Valdez Is Coming	Frank Tanner
	Believe in Me	Alan
1973	Lady Ice	Eddie Stell
	Blade	Petersen
1974	The Memory of Us	Brad
	The Kid and the Killers	Roper
1975	The Kingfisher Caper	Johnny Lance
1976	The Food of the Gods	Brian
1987	Masters of the Universe	Duncan/Man-At-Arms
	Off the Mark	John C. Roosevelt
1989	Accidents	James Hughs
1990	Spontaneous Combustion	Dr. Marsh
	The Sandgrass People	Walter Carter
1991	Strictly Business	Drake
1998	Walking to the Waterline	Fred Blumquist

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1957	Roger's and Hammerstein's Cinderella	Prince Christopher	Television film
	The United States Steel Hour		Episode: "Upbeat"
	Armstrong Circle Theatre	Richie Braman/Miklos	2 episodes
1962	Our Five Daughters	Driscoll
1964	NBC Children's Theatre	King Richard	Episode: "Robin Hood"
	Flipper	Jim Lorman	Episode: "Countdown for Flipper"
1967	Coronet Blue	Ewan McBurney	Episode: "A Time to be Born"
1970	Nanny and the Professor	Professor Englund	Episode: "E.S. Putt"
1971–73	The Doris Day Show	Sir Robert Kingsley	2 episodes
1972	McMillan & Wife	John Thomas Clark	Episode: "The Face of Murder"
	Mission: Impossible	Art Stafford	Episode: "Trapped"
	Bonanza	Col. Cody Ransom	Episode: "A Place to Hide"
	Mannix	Wallace Hunter/Phillip Lomax	2 episodes
1973	Circle of Fear	Keith	Episode: "Legion of Demons"
1974	Cannon	Lt. Lou Hayes	Episode: "Bobby Loved Me"
	Night Games	Dale Hannigan	Television film
	The F.B.I.	Belson	Episode: "Survival"
	The Rookies	Dr. Stafford	Episode: "Key Witness"
1975	Marcus Welby, M.D.	Eric Brandon	4 episodes
1976	Barnaby Jones	Frank Dunlap	Episode: "Dangerous Gambit"
	Bronk	Lundeen	Episode: "The Vigilante"
1977	Police Woman	Skip Arnold	Episode: "The Disco Killer"
	The Feather and Father Gang	Cal Cooper	Episode: "Sun, Sand, and Death"
	The Rockford Files	Michael Kelly	2 episodes
1978–79	As the World Turns	Dr. Alexander Keith	2 episodes
1979	The Love Boat	Russell Evans	Episode: "Not Now, I'm Dying/Too Young to Love/Eleanor's Return"
1980	Freebie and the Bean	Dwight Rollins	Episode: "Flying Aces"
1981	Evita Peron	Col. Imbert	Television film
	General Hospital	Max Van Stadt	Episode #1.4687
1981–83	Trapper John, M.D.	Marshall Randolph/Andrew Forsyte	2 episodes
1981–87	Hill Street Blues	Chief Fletcher Daniels	Main Role; 71 episodes
1982	Today's F.B.I.	Le Duc	Episode: "Spy"
	House Calls		Episode: "Man for All Surgeons"
	The Greatest American Hero	Richard Beller	Episode: "Now You See it"
	The Devlin Connection		Episode: "The Lady on the Billboard"
	Dallas		Episode: "Post Nuptial"
1982–83	Knots Landing	Jeff Munson	12 episodes
1983	Knight Rider	George Atherton	Episode: "Soul Survivor"
1983–87	Dynasty	Dirk E. Maurier	10 episodes
1984	Lottery!		Episode: "Chicago: Another Chance"
1985	Half Nelson		Episode: "Nose Job"
	Malice in Wonderland	Dr. Harry 'Docky' Martin	Television film
	Lime Street	Kyle Stoddard	Episode: "Odd Pilots Never Die"
1986	Hotel	Richard Copeland	Episode: "Triangles"
	Perry Mason: The Case of the Notorious Nun	Dr. Peter Lattimore	Television film
	True Confessions		Episode: "The Decision"
1986–93	Murder, She Wrote	Capt. Rory O'Neil/Nathan Swarthmore/Defense Atty. Max Flynn	3 episodes
1987	The Law & Harry McGraw	Sam Wallace	Episode: "Angela's Secret"
	Hunter	Alan Shadwell	Episode: "Turning Point"
1988	Elvis and Me	Captain Joseph Paul Beaulieu	Television film
	Probe	Howard Millhouse	2 episodes
	Lady Mobster	Alfred Mallory	Television film
	Favorite Son	Bartholomew Scott	Episode: "Part One"
1988–89	Santa Barbara	Dr. Arthur Donnelly	Recurring role; 57 episodes
	Tour of Duty	Major General Goldman	2 episodes
1989	Duet	John	Episode: "The Birth of a Saleswoman"
	Open House	John Green	2 episodes
1990	B.L. Stryker	Felix Renza	Episode: "High Rise"
	Valerie	Mr. Edwards	Episode: "A Matter of Principal"
	Snow Kill	Reid	Television film
1990–93	Major Dad	General Marcus C. Craig	Main Role; 69 episodes
1994	Love & War	Anthony	Episode: "I've Got a Crush on You"
	The Commish	Bill Kelton	Episode: "Dead Drunk"
	RoboCop	General Eugene Omar	Episode: "Ghosts of War"
1995	Burke's Law	Ben Fletcher	Episode: "Who Killed the Motor Car Maverick?"
	The Invaders	Sen. Alex Feinman	2 episodes
1995–2000	Law & Order	Jerome Kamen/Harlan Graham	2 episodes
1996	Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman	Preston A. Lodge II	Episode: "The Tempest"
1997	Pinky and the Brain	Administrator	Voice, episode: "The Tailor and the Mice/Bah, Wilderness"
	Profiler	Judge Neil MacGruder	Episode: "Power Corrupts"
1998	JAG	Frank Burnett	Episode: "To Russia with Love"
1999	Rescue 77	Charles Bell	2 episodes
	Walker, Texas Ranger	Waylon Cox	Episode: "Full Recovery"
1999–2000	Batman Beyond	Ira Billings/Spellbinder	Voice, 3 episodes
2000	Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show	Colonel Coleman	Episode: "Honey, It's an Interplanetary, Extraordinary Life"
2001	The Lot		2 episodes
2004	Great Performances	Prince Christopher/Self	Episode: "Roger's and Hammerstein's Cinderella

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Venue	Type	Notes
1958	The Disenchanted	Wister LaSalle	Coronet Theatre	Broadway
1961	The Night of the Iguana	The Reverend T. Lawrence Shannon	Royale Theatre		U/s
1963	Jennie	Randolph of the Royal Mounted/Others	Majestic Theatre		Standby
1964	As You Like It		Lucille Lortel Theatre	Off-Broadway
1965	Man of La Mancha	Dr. Carrasco	Martin Beck Theatre	Broadway
	The Wives	Herakles	Stage 73	Off-Broadway
	The Great Western Union	Robert	Bouwerie Lane Theatre
1967	Sherry!	Bert Jefferson	Alvin Theatre	Broadway
1968	The Great White Hope	Mr. Cameron/Others
1969	1776	Thomas Jefferson	46th Street Theatre		Replacement
	Coco	Papa	Mark Hellinger Theatre
1970–72	1776	Thomas Jefferson	Touring production
1971	Coco	Julian Lesage
1973	Oliver!	Bill Sikes
1980–82	Evita	Perón
1984	42nd Street	Julian Marsh
1996	Big	MacMillan	Shubert Theatre	Broadway

References

1. "Soap Star of the Week", Charleston News and Courier, August 26, 1988.^{[dead link‍]}
2. Biography of Jon Cypher, filmreference.com; accessed March 5, 2017.
3. "Major Dad (TV Series 1989–1993) - IMDb". IMDb.
4. "Jon Cypher of "Major Dad' Sues Theater, Troupe". Tulsa World. Retrieved 2017-03-06.
5. Sawyer, James (2013-10-13). "Masters Of The Universe (The 1987 Film): Q & A With Actor Jon Cypher (Man-At-Arms)!". Motumovie.com. Retrieved 2017-03-06.
6. Hansen, Evalyn. "Backstage: An interview with Jon Cypher". DailyTidings.com. Archived from the original on 2017-09-02. Retrieved 2017-03-06.

External links

• Jon Cypher at IMDb
• Jon Cypher at the Internet Broadway Database
• Jon Cypher at the Internet Off-Broadway Database