Larry Dobkin

A former child actor turned radio performer, Lawrence Dobkin adapted his distinctive voice to the burgeoning world of television as the narrator of such influential 1950s series as "Broken Arrow" and "Naked City." Concurrently, he began acting onscreen with a host of uncredited appearances in such landmark films as the war drama "Twelve O'Clock High," the Burt-Lancaster-starrer "The Sweet Smell of Success," the seminal sci-fi "The Day the Earth Stood Still," and Alfred Hitchcock's "North by Northwest," in which he provided memorable commentary on the beleaguered hero's situation. Dobkin continued to appear in films such as "Patton" (1970), but his focus began to shift increasingly toward television. In the midst of a three-episode stint on the long-running Western "Gunsmoke," Dobkin tried his hand at writing and directing installments of such other popular series of the time as "Klondike," "77 Sunset Strip," and "The Rifleman." Although he would go on to write only a handful of scripts, Dobkin became hugely prolific as a TV director, helming key episodes of the medical drama "Emergency!," the ghoulish sitcom "The Munsters," the geriatric-detective series "Barnaby Jones," and the Depression-era family drama "The Waltons." Dobkin retired from directing in the mid-'80s, but continued taking onscreen guest roles in series such as "MacGyver," "Melrose Place," and "Judging Amy" until his death in 2002.