Sunsetted

Or

86 Sunset Strip

Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., who was indirectly responsible for the disaster at Waco, has died at the age of 95. The star of the long-running series The FBI, Zimbalist was honored several times by the agency, who said that his performance inspired many men and women to join, some of whom may have been in positions of authority in 1990 during David Koresh’s barbecue gone awry. Other roles included a hipster PI with beatnik part-time flunky/parking lot attendant Edd “Kookie” Byrnes in 77 Sunset Strip, a recurring gig as a con artist in Remington Steele opposite daughter Stephanie, the voice of Alfred Pennyworth in several Batman cartoon series, an airplane captain in Airport 1975 who is blinded by a mid-air accident, putting head stewardess Karen Black in the pilot’s seat based on strict laws of succession. Airport 1975 and another Zimbalist feature, The Crowded Sky, provided prominent grist for the parody mill in Airplane!, and Zimbalist followed Leslie Nielsen’s against-type performance in that film with his own in Hot Shots!