‘Hill Street Blues’ and ‘Doogie Howser, MD’ Star James Sikking Dies at 90

James B. Sikking, known for his roles as Lieutenant Howard Hunter in “Hill Street Blues”And the titular character’s father in“Doogie Howser, MD,” died. He was 90 years old.

Sikking died Saturday from complications of dementia, his publicist Cynthia Synder said in a statement Sunday night.

“In a remarkable career, Sikking’s wonderfully soulful face has given us drama, comedy, tragedy and hilarious farce,” Snyder shared with Variety. “His career spanned more than six decades on television, film and the stage.”

Sikking was widely recognized for his portrayal of Howard Hunter on the crime series “Hill Street Blues,” which aired from 1981 to 1987 on NBC. He received an Emmy nomination in 1984 for his performance as the clean-cut, pipe-smoking lieutenant.

After “Hill Street Blues,” Sikking played Dr. David Howser, father of Doogie Howser (Neil Patrick Harris), in all four seasons of the ABC medical sitcom, from 1989 to 1993.

He played a cop again for Steven Bochco, co-creator of “Hill Street Blues” and “Doogie Howser, MD,” on the short-lived CBS series “Brooklyn South” (1997-98).

Early in his career, Sikking made guest appearances on television series such as “Perry Mason”, “General Hospital”, “The Outer Limits”, “The Fugitive”, “Rawhide”, “Bonanza”, “Ironside”, “Starsky & Hutch” and “The Rockford Files” before becoming a series regular on “Hill Street Blues.” In 2004, he appeared in two episodes of HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

On the film side, he was known for playing Captain Styles in 1984’s “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock,” directed by and starring Leonard Nimoy, and the director of the FBI in Alan J. Pakula’s 1993 legal thriller, “The Pelican Brief.” .” Additional film credits include “Point Blank”, “Made of Honor”, ​​“Fever Pitch”, “Charro!”, “Final Approach”, “Ordinary People”, “Terminal Man” and “Von Ryan’s Express”; He worked on four films directed by Peter Hyams: “Capricorn One”, “Outland”, “The Star Chamber” and “Narrow Margin”.

The youngest of five children, James Barrie Sikking (named after the author of “Peter Pan”) was born on March 5, 1934, in Los Angeles, the son of Andy and Sue Sikking. He graduated in 1959 with a degree in theater arts from UCLA, where he met Florine Caplan, his wife of more than 60 years.

Sikking is survived by his wife, son Andrew (Paula), daughter Dr. Emily Sikking (Mallory “Chip” Milam) and four grandchildren, Lola and Gemma Sikking and Hugh and Madeline “Maddie” Milam.