Classic TV actor Jack De Mave has died. De Mave, who appeared on Lassie and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, suffered a heart attack on Thanksgiving Day and later died in hospice care in Macon, Georgia on Jan. 16, his friend, Vickie Lovett, told The Hollywood Reporter. He was 91. Born John Francois De Mave on Dec. 8, 1933 in Jersey City, New Jersey, De Mave studied with Herbert Berghof, Mary Welch, and Lee Strasberg.
He also acted on local stages with Inger Stevens and Charlton Heston. In 1958, the actor appeared with Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in their final Broadway play, The Visit. He later worked on live television on anthology shows like Kraft Theatre. After moving to Los Angeles, he made his on-screen acting debut on an episode of the drama series Surfside 6 in 1962. Other credits include Wagon Train, The F.B.I., Blindfold, Daniel Boone, F Troop, and The Fugitive throughout the ‘60s.
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In 1968, De Mave landed the role of Bob Erickson on the beloved series Lassie, appearing in a total of 24 episodes between 1968 and 1970. Once his time on Lassie came to an end, he appeared in two episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1970 and 1971 as Armond Lynton. He was also on Funny Face, The Doris Day Show, Deadly Harvest, 176, Marcus Welby, M.D., Hello Mother, Goodbye!, The Bold and the Beautiful, and The Man Without a Face. De Mave’s three-episode stint as Dr. Gregory Eldridge on Days of Our Lives in 1998 was his final role for nearly eight years before appearing in the TV movies Meet the Santas in 2005 and Ladies of the House in 2008, after which he officially retired.
Jack De Mave’s father, Jack De Mave, was a heavyweight boxer in the late ‘20s and is reportedly Clifford Odets’ inspiration for the play Golden Boy. Meanwhile, his mother, Helen, was a Broadway casting director. Because of her, De Mave met Oscar winner Paul Mini backstage after a performance of Inherit the Wind in 1955. He was married to Camille De Mave, an assistant for Paul Newman and George Roy Hill, from 1963 until her death in 2013. His sister, former ABC publicist Jachelene De Mave, died around seven or eight years ago. Vickie Lovett adopted De Mave’s Sheltie, Tyler.
