Actor Paul Burke Dies
Two Emmy nominations for Naked City.
Paul Burke, an actor who earned two Primetime Emmy nominations for his role as Det. Adam Flint in the crime drama Naked City, died September 13, 2009. He was 83.
Burke, who had leukemia and non-Hodgkins lymphoma, reportedly died with his wife, Lyn, at his side at his home in Palm Springs.
Over the course of a 40-year career, Burke was appeared in dozens of television series, including 12 O’Clock High and Dynasty.
Burke also made a number of feature films, and had substantial roles as a police detective who pursues art thief Steve McQueen in The Thomas Crown Affair and caddish paramour Lyon Burke in the screen adaptation of Jacqueline Susann’s best-selling novel, Valley of the Dolls.
Born July 21, 1926, in New Orleans, Burke was the son of boxer Martin Burke, who had once fought heavyweight champion Gene Tunney.
During World War II, Burke’s family ran a restaurant and nightclub in the French Quarter. Observing the many unfulfilled people who passed through the family’s establishment served as motivational fodder when Burke spent moved to California at age 19 to become an actor.
He studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse, and scored small parts in carious television series. His first starring role came in 1956, when he was cast as veterinarian Dr. Noah McCann in the short-lived series Noah’s Ark. The next year he had another series, Harbourmaster.
In 1960 he joined Naked City in its second season, when it changed from a half-hour to an hour drama. Burke played detective Adam Flint on the show, which was shot on location in New York City, and was heralded for its dark, verité aesthetic.
He later portrayed an Air Force colonel in the adventure show 12 O’Clock High, where he met his actress wife Lyn.
Burke worked steadily into his sixties, including a recurring role in the primetime drama Dynasty from 1982-1988.
His last part was in the 1990 film The Fool. In the years since then, he had retired to Palm Springs.
In addition to his wife, Burke is survived by three children from his first marriage, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.