Dennis Lee Cole (July 19, 1940 – November 15, 2009)[1] was an American actor in film and television. Cole worked mostly on television, with numerous guest appearances in the 1960s and '70s.[2] After the 1991 murder of his only son, Joe Cole, he became an activist who spoke against violence on television.
Career
Cole began performing in his native Detroit and moved to Los Angeles in the 1960s. His bleached-blond, athletic look of a quintessential California surfer earned him the attention of physique magazines.[3] He worked as a model and stuntman before making the transition to acting.[2] His first big acting break came when he landed a starring role in the police drama Felony Squad, which ran from 1966 to 1969. He appeared for one season (1969–1970) as Davey Evans in Bracken's World.[4] He co-starred with Rod Taylor in the TV series Bearcats! (1971) and played Lance Prentiss on the TV soap series The Young and the Restless (1981–82).
Cole as Davey Evans on Bracken's World, arranging models to film movie stunts
In 1976, when Cole guest-starred on Charlie's Angels, he met his second wife, actress Jaclyn Smith. After a 19-month courtship, the couple wed. Their marriage lasted from 1978 to 1981.[1][5]
Joe Cole, his only son from his first marriage with Sally Bergeron, was shot dead in 1991, at the age of 30, during a home-invasion robbery attempt in the Venice section of Los Angeles.[6] That crime remains unsolved.[7][8]
Dennis was a regular celebrity attendee at the annual Madden Derby Eve party hosted by Anita Madden in Lexington, Kentucky. Dennis was Anita Madden's escort for this event for several years.[10]
Cole performed as the Narrator in a production of Blood Brothers and as King Marchan in the first national tour of the musical Victor/Victoria. While working on a national tour of Victor/Victoria, Cole was injured and spent three years recovering.[2][9]
Cole relocated to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 1999, where he became a real-estate broker and opened his own real-estate company with his third wife Marjorie Cole,[1] whom he married in 2004. The couple owned and operated Celebrity Realty, Inc. The couple divorced in 2008 after claims of domestic violence that eventually resulted in Cole's arrest for obstruction of justice.[11][3][12]
