# Kevin Dobson
**Kevin Dobson** (born 1943) was an American film and television actor best known for two long-running roles: Detective Bobby Crocker, the young partner of [Telly Savalas](https://www.edgepedia.org/telly-savalas)' Lt. Theo Kojak on the CBS crime drama *Kojak* (1973 to 1978), and M. Patrick "Mack" MacKenzie, [Michele Lee](https://www.edgepedia.org/michele-lee)'s husband on the primetime soap opera *Knots Landing* (1982 to 1993)[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/kevin-dobson) • [2](https://entertainment.ie/person/kevin-dobson/). He died on September 6, 2020, in [Stockton, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/stockton-california), at age 77[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/kevin-dobson).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | Born 1943 in New York City; died September 6, 2020, in Stockton, California, aged 77[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/kevin-dobson) |
| Signature roles | Det. Bobby Crocker on *Kojak* (1973–1978); Mack MacKenzie on *Knots Landing* (1982–1993)[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/kevin-dobson) • [2](https://entertainment.ie/person/kevin-dobson/) |
| Training | Student of acting coach Sandy Meisner; studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/kevin-dobson) • [3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/kevin-dobson/) |
| Emmy recognition | Daytime Emmy nomination, 1983, Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming, for *CBS Afternoon Playhouse*[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/kevin-dobson) |
| Soap honors | Five Soap Opera Digest Awards for *Knots Landing*[2](https://entertainment.ie/person/kevin-dobson/) |
| Feature films | Ensign George Gay in *Midway*; Barbra Streisand's husband in *All Night Long* (1981); a priest in *1408* (2007)[2](https://entertainment.ie/person/kevin-dobson/) |
## Early life and path to acting
Dobson was born in New York City and grew up in Queens, one of seven children[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/kevin-dobson) • [4](https://www.knotslanding.net/kevin-dobson-nice-guy/). He served in the Army as a military policeman, an experience he later credited with teaching him how to handle a gun and handle himself in physical scenes[2](https://entertainment.ie/person/kevin-dobson/).
While studying at New York University, he held a job with the Long Island Railroad to pay his expenses, and his girlfriend, who later became his wife, advised him to pursue television commercials rather than railroad work as a source of income during his studies.[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/kevin-dobson/) He won several commercials and toured with a production of *The Impossible Years* by Walter Kerr; on returning to New York he began studying at the Neighborhood Playhouse, where acting coach Sandy Meisner taught[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/kevin-dobson) • [3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/kevin-dobson/).
His first screen work came in small parts in three films made in the East: *Love Story* (1970), *Klute* (1971), and *The French Connection* (1971)[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/kevin-dobson/). After moving to Los Angeles, his first television appearance was an episode of *The Mod Squad*, and he worked as a fireman on the Santa Fe Railroad to make ends meet between acting jobs[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/kevin-dobson/).
## Kojak
In 1972 Dobson signed a contract with Universal Studios, which led to the role of Detective Bobby Crocker, Lt. Theo Kojak's young partner, opposite Telly Savalas[2](https://entertainment.ie/person/kevin-dobson/). He had auditioned twice and failed before a third audition, arranged through his agent, won him the part[2](https://entertainment.ie/person/kevin-dobson/). He remained with *Kojak* for its entire five-season run, from 1973 to 1978[2](https://entertainment.ie/person/kevin-dobson/).
He later reunited with Savalas for the 1990 television movie *Kojak: It's Always Something*, in which Crocker had become an assistant district attorney; the two remained friends until Savalas' death from bladder cancer in 1994[2](https://entertainment.ie/person/kevin-dobson/) • [3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/kevin-dobson/).
## Knots Landing
After the failure of *Shannon*, a 1981 CBS series in which he played Det. Jack Shannon, a single-father San Francisco police officer canceled after nine episodes, Dobson joined *Knots Landing* at the beginning of its fourth season in September 1982[2](https://entertainment.ie/person/kevin-dobson/). He played M. Patrick "Mack" MacKenzie, the husband of Michele Lee's character, until the show's cancellation in 1993[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/kevin-dobson) • [2](https://entertainment.ie/person/kevin-dobson/).
The role brought him five [Soap Opera Digest Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/soap-opera-digest-awards)[2](https://entertainment.ie/person/kevin-dobson/). During the run he also directed his first *Knots Landing* episode, an experience he described as rewarding and a test of his creative input[4](https://www.knotslanding.net/kevin-dobson-nice-guy/). He later rejoined his co-stars for the 1997 miniseries *Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac* and the 2005 reunion special *Knots Landing Reunion: Together Again*[2](https://entertainment.ie/person/kevin-dobson/).
## Other work
Dobson's film roles included Ensign George Gay in the World War II movie *Midway*, alongside [Henry Fonda](https://www.edgepedia.org/henry-fonda) and [Charlton Heston](https://www.edgepedia.org/charlton-heston); Gay was the sole survivor of Torpedo Squadron Eight's opening attack from the USS *Hornet* against the Japanese fleet on June 4, 1942[2](https://entertainment.ie/person/kevin-dobson/). He played the husband of [Barbra Streisand](https://www.edgepedia.org/barbra-streisand)'s character in the 1981 romantic comedy *All Night Long*, and had a small role as a priest in the 2007 psychological horror film *1408*[2](https://entertainment.ie/person/kevin-dobson/).
On television he had recurring roles in *The Doctors*, *Shannon*, *F/X: The Series*, *The Bold and the Beautiful*, *Days of Our Lives*, and *House of Lies*, and guest appearances on series including *Mod Squad*, *Emergency!*, *Police Story*, *Captain Kangaroo*, *Nash Bridges*, and *Cold Case*[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/kevin-dobson). He was the fourth actor to play Mickey Horton on *Days of Our Lives*[2](https://entertainment.ie/person/kevin-dobson/). In 1983 he was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming for his work on *CBS Afternoon Playhouse*[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/kevin-dobson). He starred in nearly three dozen television movies over his career[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/kevin-dobson).
## Charity work
Dobson supported the Retinitis Pigmentosa Foundation, a degenerative eye disease charity, motivated by two nephews who were legally blind, and appeared for Muscular Dystrophy and AIDS groups and the [Special Olympics](https://www.edgepedia.org/special-olympics)[4](https://www.knotslanding.net/kevin-dobson-nice-guy/).
## References
1. [Kevin Dobson, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/kevin-dobson)
2. [Kevin Dobson, Entertainment.ie](https://entertainment.ie/person/kevin-dobson/)
3. [Kevin Dobson, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/kevin-dobson/)
4. [Kevin Dobson – Mr Nice Guy, Knots Landing.net](https://www.knotslanding.net/kevin-dobson-nice-guy/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Do to Es*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license