Actor who played the fugitive on tv: 59 Photos
50 years before peak TV, The Fugitive set
Inside Life and Tragic Final Years of The Fugitive Star David Janssen
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The show's lead, and the only character seen in all 120 episodes, was Dr. Richard David Kimble (David Janssen).
Janssen was a heavy drinker, and a chain smoker who smoked up to four packs of cigarettes a day. He died from a sudden heart attack in the early morning of February 13, 1980, at his beachfront home in Malibu, California, at the age of 48.
Janssen, fresh from the series Richard Diamond, Private Detective and 32 when The Fugitive started, made Kimble both victim and Everyman. The role earned him $4.5 million a year and a retinue of caretakers, one always delegated to keeping him sober. That was no easy assignment.
By season four, The Fugitive sank to number-fifty in the ratings. The grueling role took a psychic toll on Janssen, who was in almost every scene of the series. With Janssen now wanting out, producer Martin debated whether to provide closure or not.
Harrison Ford. Based on the 1960s television series of the same name, the film stars Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Sela Ward, Joe Pantoliano, Andreas Katsulas, and Jeroen Krabbé.