OT: Paul Burke is gone. Article below from NYT

Paul Burke, ‘Naked City’ Star, Dies at 83
Published: September 16, 2009

Paul Burke, who played the upright, soul-searching detective Adam
Flint on the acclaimed television drama “Naked City,” but whose career
was halted decades later after he was tried and acquitted on federal
racketeering charges, died on Sunday at his home in Palm Springs,
Calif. He was 83.

The cause was leukemia and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, said his daughter
Dina Burke Shawkat.

Inspired by the 1948 film “The Naked City,” the television series was
broadcast on ABC from 1958 to 1963. Noirish and brooding, it was
filmed on location in New York and anticipated “Kojak” and “Law &
Order” in its gritty yet warm portrayal of the city and its people.
“Naked City” also starred Horace McMahon as Flint’s superior officer
and Harry Bellaver as a jovial colleague.

The show is also widely remembered for its closing voiceover,
delivered by the actor Lawrence Dobkin: “There are eight million
stories in the naked city. This has been one of them.”

Dark-haired, with large, nearly triangular eyes, Mr. Burke joined
“Naked City” in its second season, when it was expanded from 30
minutes to an hour. (The first season, 1958-59, starred James
Franciscus as Detective James Halloran.)

Mr. Burke received two Emmy nominations for his work on the show. He
later was a star of the ABC series “12 O’Clock High,” about World War
II bombardiers, and appeared regularly on “Santa Barbara” and
“Dynasty.” His film credits include “Valley of the Dolls” (1967) and
“The Thomas Crown Affair” (1968).

Paul Burke was born in New Orleans on July 21, 1926. His father,
Martin, a prizefighter, was a regular sparring partner of the
heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey. Paul grew up fascinated by the
denizens of the nightclub that his father owned in the city’s French
Quarter; they would provide the grist, he later said, for many of the
characters he played.

After training at the Pasadena Playhouse, Mr. Burke began appearing in
small film and television parts. His first starring role was as the
veterinarian Noah McCann in the television series “Noah’s Ark,”
broadcast on NBC from 1956 to 1957.

Mr. Burke’s first marriage, to Peggy Pryor, ended in divorce. He is
survived by his second wife, the former Lyn Peters; three children
from his first marriage, Paula Burke Lopez, Paul Brian Burke and Ms.
Burke Shawkat; six grandchildren, among them the actress Alia Shawkat,
who starred in the television series “Arrested Development”; and two
great-grandchildren.

Throughout the 1970s and ’80s Mr. Burke had guest roles on many
television shows, including “Medical Center,” “Hawaii Five-O” and
“Fantasy Island.”

In 1990, Mr. Burke, the New Orleans District Attorney Harry F. Connick
and several others were tried on racketeering charges in federal
district court there. Mr. Burke was accused of having interceded with
Mr. Connick, a childhood friend, on behalf of a Louisiana bookmaker,
Walton Aucoin.

The indictment charged that Mr. Burke, an acquaintance of Mr. Aucoin,
had helped persuade Mr. Connick to return gambling records seized from
Mr. Aucoin in a 1988 police raid. Mr. Burke was also charged with
having lied to a grand jury investigating the case.

After a six-week trial, a jury acquitted Mr. Burke, Mr. Connick and
two co-defendants while convicting three others, including Mr. Aucoin.
Mr. Connick is the father of the jazz singer Harry Connick Jr.

Despite his acquittal, Mr. Burke later said, the publicity surrounding
the case seemed to put an end to his career. He retired soon
afterward.

“Before the trial I was just getting into roles playing older men, and
suddenly I get back to California and there’s no work,” Mr. Burke told
The Associated Press in 1992. “I can’t definitely correlate it to the
trial, but I couldn’t get a job, so I said the hell with it.”

.

Relevant Pages

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  • Re: OT: Paul Burke is gone. Article below from NYT
    ... Paul Burke, who played the upright, soul-searching detective Adam ... Flint on the acclaimed television drama “Naked City,” but whose career ... Mr. Connick, a childhood friend, on behalf of a Louisiana bookmaker, ...
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