Ringside Report Remembers TV and Film Star Edd Byrnes

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By Geoffrey Huchel

Actor Edd Byrnes, known for his starring role on the television series 77 SUNSET STRIP and appearing in the 1978 film GREASE, passed away on January 8, 2020, at age 87, from natural causes at his Santa Monica home. Ringside Report pays tribute to the actor by looking back at his 5 decades long career.

After performing a year in a summer stock theatre company in Connecticut, Byrnes moved to Hollywood to pursue an acting career. Once there he managed to get minor parts in films and TV and then won a starring role on 77 SUNSET STRIP (1958), as Gerald “Kookie” Kookson. Throughout his long and successful acting career he appeared in numerous TV series, including COLT.45 (1957), CHEYENNE (1955), MAVERICK (1957), LAWMAN (1958), THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR (1962), BURKE’S LAW (1963), HONEY WEST (1965), MANNIX (1967), LOVE, AMERICAN STYLE (1969), THE VIRGINIAN (1962), ADAM-12 (1968), MARCUS WELBY, M.D. (1969), POLICE STORY (1973), THE HARDY BOYS/NANCY DREW MYSTERIES (1977), CHIPS(1977), VEGA$ (1978), CHARLIE’S ANGELS (1976), THE LOVE BOAT (1977), FANTASY ISLAND (1977), SIMON & SIMON (1981), EMPTY NEST (1988), MARRIED…WITH CHILDREN (1987) and MURDER, SHE WROTE (1984), and many others.

Aside from GREASE, where he played American Bandstand host Vince Fontaine, Byrnes’ other film credits include REFORM SCHOOL GIRL (1957), JOHNNY TROUBLE (1957), LIFE BEGINS AT 17 (1958), GIRL ON THE RUN (1958), UP PERISCOPE (1959), THE SECRET INVASION (1964), and TROOP BEVERLY HILLS (1989).

His last acting role was in the 1999 TV movie SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL: AN AMERICAN LOVE STORY.

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