Eugene Roche
Eugene Roche | |
---|---|
Born | Eugene Harrison Roche September 22, 1928 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Died | July 28, 2004 Encino, California, U.S. | (aged 75)
Occupation(s) | Actor, commercial pitchman |
Years active | 1953–2004 |
Spouses |
|
Children | 9 |
Eugene Harrison Roche (September 22, 1928 – July 28, 2004) was an American actor and the original "Ajax Man" in 1970s television commercials.
Personal life
Roche was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Mary M. (née Finnegan) and Robert F. Roche, who was at the time serving in the U.S. Navy.[1] He served in the U.S. Army after graduating from high school.[2]
He married Marjory Perkins in 1953. The couple had nine children, including actor Eamonn Roche and
Career
After playing theater on various stages since 1953, Roche made his Broadway debut in 1961 as a bit player in the play Blood, Sweat and Stanley Poole with
Roche played dramatic supporting roles as well, often playing deceptively ordinary men who are shown to be capable of ruthlessness, menacing violence or disturbing perversity. In
He made two appearances on Airwolf (once as Senator William Dietz in the pilot episode "Shadow of the Hawke", and again as Eddie in the episode "Firestorm" in season 2). Roche appeared in five episodes of Magnum, P.I. as Luther Gillis, an old style private eye. He is remembered for his recurring role as the Ajax Dishwasher in a series of television commercials and print advertisements.
He also made a guest appearance in the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show as Grandpa Murdock in the first episode, in which he swallowed everyone by accident.
Death
Roche died on July 28, 2004, aged 75, at a hospital in Encino, California, from a heart attack.[4]
Selected filmography
- Splendor in the Grass (1961) .... Private Detective (uncredited)
- The Happening (1967) .... First Motorcycle Officer
- Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970) .... Lt. Anderson
- They Might Be Giants (1971) .... Policeman
- Crawlspace (1972, TV Movie) .... Sheriff Emil Birge
- Ironside (1972, TV Series) .... Marty, law school janitor
- Slaughterhouse-Five (1972) .... Edgar Derby
- Egan (1973) ... Detective Eddie Egan
- Newman's Law (1974) .... Reardon
- W (1974) .... Charles Jasper
- Hawaii Five-O (1975, TV Series) .... Ed Hudson
- Mr. Ricco (1975) .... Detective George Cronyn
- Kojak (1975, TV series) .... Patrolman Lyle 'Sandy' Beach / Seymore Haywood
- The Streets of San Francisco (1976, TV Series) .... Charlie Springer
- All in the Family (1976–1978, TV Series) .... Pinky Petersen
- The Late Show (1977) .... Ronnie Birdwell
- Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected (1977, TV Series) .... Major Jim Langston
- Soap (1977–1981, TV Series) .... E. Ronald Mallu, Esq.
- The Ghost of Flight 401(1978, TV Movie) .... Andrews
- Corvette Summer (1978) .... Ed McGrath
- Foul Play (1978) .... Archbishop Thorncrest
- The New Maverick (1978, TV Movie) .... Judge Austin Crupper, President 1st National Bank of Deming Texas
- Good Time Harry (1980, TV Series) .... Jimmy Hughes
- Rape and Marriage: The Rideout Case (1980, TV Movie) .... Gary Gortmaker
- Miracle on Ice (1981, TV Movie) .... Don Craig
- Taxi (1982, TV Series) .... Jack
- Magnum, P.I. (1983–1988, TV Series) .... Luther Gillis
- Off Sides (Pigs vs. Freaks) (1984, TV Movie) .... Chief Frank Brockmeyer
- Webster (1984–1986, TV Series) .... Bill Parker
- Airwolf (1984, TV Series) .... Eddie Donahough / Senator William Dietz
- Oh, God! You Devil (1984) .... Charlie Gray
- Night Court (1984–1988, TV Series) .... Jack Sullivan
- Hardcastle and McCormick (1985, TV Series) .... Joseph Allen Murphy
- Stranded (1986, TV Movie) .... Sullivan
- Highway To Heaven(1986, TV Series) .... Clancy
- Take Five (1987, TV Series) .... Max Davis
- Perfect Strangers (1987–1988, TV Series) .... Harry Burns
- Eternity (1990) .... Ridley / Governor
- Lenny (1990, TV Series) .... Pat
- The Last Halloween (1991, TV Short) .... Grandpa
- Julie (1992, TV Series) .... I.F. 'Wooley' Woolstein
- Batman: The Animated Series (1992–1993, TV Series) .... Arnold Stromwell
- When a Man Loves a Woman (1994) .... Walter
- Roswell (1994, TV Movie) .... James Forrestal
- A Friend to Die For (1994, TV Movie) .... Priest
- Executive Decision (1996) .... Admiral Lewis
- Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1997, TV Series) .... Grandpa Matthew Murdock
- The Woman Chaser (1999) .... Used Car Dealer
- Dancing at the Harvest Moon (2002, TV Movie) .... Gil Finnigan
References
- ^ "Eugene Roche Biography (1928-)". Film Reference. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
- ^ a b Vallance, Tom (2004-08-08). "Eugene Roche Obituary". The Independent. London. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
- ^ "Eugene Roche". NNDB. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
Further reading
- Vallance, Tom. Eugene Roche obituary, The Independent (August 8, 2004)
- Oliver, Myrna. "Eugene Roche, 75; Character Actor in Films, Television", Los Angeles Times, August 2, 2004; accessed August 27, 2015.
External links
- Eugene Roche at IMDb
- Eugene Roche at the Internet Broadway Database
- Eugene Roche at Memory Alpha
- Eugene Roche at Aveleyman.com