Actor Michael Cole, who famously played Pete Cochran, one of three young undercover cops in "The Mod Squad," died Tuesday at age 84, his publicist told The Hollywood Reporter.
Cole, born on July 3, 1940, in Madison, Wisconsin, grew up without knowing his biological father. Along with his older brother Ted and mother Kathleen, he lived with his grandmother. By age 12, he began drinking and getting into trouble. Dropping out of high school at 16, Cole married his pregnant girlfriend and became a father to Candi, followed by a second child, Jeff. The marriage ended before Cole turned 20.
After leaving Wisconsin, Cole worked as a bartender in Las Vegas and received career advice from Bobby Darin. Eventually, Cole moved to Los Angeles, living on the streets and under freeways until meeting acting coach Estelle Harman, who recognized his potential and offered free lessons and let him sleep on the stage of her workshop.
In 1966, Cole landed a role alongside Deborah Walley in the sci-fi film "The Bubble" and appeared on an episode of "Gunsmoke," where his character posed as the son of a man killed by Matt Dillon. Cole's performance caught the attention of a casting director when he read a scene from "Picnic" at Paramount with another student from Harman's acting class. This led producer Aaron Spelling to pursue Cole for a role on "The Mod Squad."
Cole portrayed Pete Cochran on the ABC series, which ran from 1968-73 on ABC and aired for five seasons and 123 episodes.
After The Mod Squad, Cole made guest appearances on shows like "Get Christie Love!," "Police Story," "Wonder Woman," "Beyond Westworld," "Fantasy Island," "CHiPs," "Murder, She Wrote," and "ER." He also appeared in the 2007 Kevin Costner film "Mr. Brooks" and performed in regional theater productions.
In 1979, Cole reunited with "Mod Squad" cast members for a telefilm reunion.