Michael Tolan (Actor)

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(11-27-1925 - 01-31-2011) Age 86

Michael Tolan was an American actor, born on November 27, 1925, in Detroit, Michigan, and died on January 31, 2011, in San Francisco, California, at the age of 85.

Tolan began his acting career on stage, appearing in productions of classic plays such as "Hamlet" and "Macbeth." He later transitioned to television and film, making his debut in the 1950s.

He appeared in many popular TV shows of the 1950s and 1960s, including "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "The Twilight Zone," "The Outer Limits," "Perry Mason," and "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." Tolan also had a recurring role on the TV series "The Nurses."

Tolan is perhaps best known for his role as Dr. John Karin on the TV series "The Doctors," which he played from 1967 to 1982. He received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for his performance on the show in 1979.

In addition to his TV work, Tolan also appeared in films such as "The Boston Strangler" (1968), "The Brotherhood" (1968), and "All the President's Men" (1976).

Tolan was married twice and had two children. He was also a playwright and wrote several plays, including "The Grace of Mary Traverse," which premiered off-Broadway in 1982.

He appeared in the following 44 episodes of Radio Mystery Theater
Date Episode Title Plot
02/12/1974 0036 A Dream of Death Reincarnation beliefs of a college professor are accompanied by the dread of having broken an ancient agreement
05/01/1974 0084 The Death Bell Family genealogy research gets a man into trouble with the IRA who believe he is from the police.
05/30/1974 0099 Dressed to Kill An unemployed actor plans a bizarre drama of enacting his own death and consequently impersonating his wife to claim the insurance money.
07/03/1974 0113 The Secret Life of Bobby Deland A couple suffering from the death of their only child take in a young waif to fill the void in their lives. At first the orphan helps alleviate the woman's migraines however, he later repays their kindness by robbing them blind.
07/09/1974 0116 And Death Makes Even Steven In order to seize control of his father's wealth, a slighted brother plans the murder of his twin whom he believes robbed him of his fortune.
09/05/1974 0144 Deadline for Death Johnny Promo is a convict sentenced to death. He promises a witness who testified against him that he will meet his death within a month of his own.
11/04/1974 0169 Bury Me Again A seasoned charlatan somehow survives a massive train accident. He then plots to claim the insurance money belonging to a widow.
01/09/1975 0200 Berenice A young man falls in love with his young sister-in-law while his wife lies on her deathbed. The last distressing smile of his wife taunts him day and night, and he goes crazy when he sees the same smile on his new beloved.
01/30/1975 0215 The Night of the Wolf A very old Indian garment stirs great violence among the patrons of a museum. An investigator delves deeper into the situation, making himself a vulnerable target to the curse.
03/17/1975 0240 Every Blossom Dies A young lady is murdered and the investigator leading the case becomes the main suspect. His boss is unwilling to believe the facts and his wife dismisses the evidence against him, one of them being a note from the victim herself.
05/13/1975 0273 Where Angels Fear to Tread A professor of paranormal psychology, Dr. Ken Anderson, experiments with the astral projection of his self. But the experiment rolls out of control.
07/22/1975 0313 The Poisoned Pen When a group of people suddenly perish under after getting a strange missive, the thing that ties their circumstances together is that they each ridiculed a two-bit actress.
10/28/1975 0369 The Storm Breeder After being cursed to wander New England forever in search of their home, a lost soul and his daughter are doomed to bring rain in the wake of their passing. Moved by pity, a young judge works to bring peace to his restless spirit.
03/08/1976 0444 The Queen of Spades Intent on the pursuit of a secret gambling technique from a wealthy countess, he accidentally kills her. Now she's back to seek vengeance on the Russian soldier that caused her untimely demise.
03/31/1976 0459 The Spit and Image His luck takes a turn for the better when an ex-football player lands an unusual job-- to be the stand in for an eccentric billionaire.
09/28/1976 0526 One Girl in a Million A celebrity business consultant of the future, who makes his living helping corporations make huge decisions, searches the galaxy for an exact duplicate of his long dead girlfriend. Meanwhile, he feels compelled to kill anybody with the same last name as the man who killed his girlfriend.
01/28/1977 0592 My Fair Lady-Killer
A series of deaths involving loose and promiscuous women lead a police detective to believe that the crimes are perpetrated by a serial killer. After narrowing the list of suspects, he is disturbed by the fact that the evidence points to the one person who does not fit the criminal profile supplied by the experts.
09/09/1977 0706 The Woman in the Green Dress An apparition of a lady in a green dress haunts a visitor in his friend's residence. Things get interesting when he finds her mentioned in a coat of arms in the architecture of a derelict, local church. Further enquiry with the old church sexton reveals a strange murder committed nearly eighty years back. Can he solve the mystery now?
09/23/1977 0714 The Burning Whirlwind A trusting aged woman withdraws eight million dollars and keeps it stashed at her home. Unfortunately the person who helped her transfer the amount has other ideas and hires a criminal to dupe her out of it.
10/31/1977 0732 Trial by Fire A clever deceiver manages to convince a tribal group that he is the appointed messiah from their deity of fire and dupes them into entrusting him with a fabulous jewelled crown. But trouble starts brewing when the fire god himself appears!
12/14/1977 0754 The Death Shot A honeymoon in Greece turns nightmarish as the husband photographs a murder par hasard. The killer is an important political leader and the couple must decide on a course to ensure their survival.
02/21/1978 0786 A Phantom Yesterday A renowned German actress is captured by a Nazi war convict when she returns to her homeland after World War II. She must use her wartime espionage experience and guile to save herself.
04/25/1978 0822 International Dateline This story revolves around a Machiavellian World War II fighter pilot who even cheats the good lieutenant who takes care of him after a severe injury lands him in coma. He romances her on work while maintaining a wife at home. Problems start when the two women meet and he begins to be chased by a malicious ghost.
05/09/1978 0830 Room 418 A suave man talks his way into renting a reserved room at a fully-booked hotel. But problems creep up when the rightful owner unexpectedly turns up in the night.
06/28/1978 0856 The Quadruple A trapeze artist trades his soul for the ability to perform the master stunt of all.
08/16/1978 0880 Raptures of the Deep The search of a sunken Spanish galleon fabled for its treasures leads a Greek diver to find the mythical city of Atlantis and know of its strange history.
11/08/1978 0915 Second Sight A psychiatrist recommends a grounded pilot to take up painting to help him loosen up. A strange series of events unfold when his paintings of death and destruction all come to pass the following day.
01/04/1979 0939 The Look In order to further himself as a potential president-elect, a senator uses a sub-committee on organized crime to further things along. Things take a turn for the worse when the investigation moves too close to home.
03/05/1979 0959 The Fall of Gentryville When an entire mountain town vanishes from a map, a reporter is dispatched to uncover the mystery. There she discovers the village's sole survivor and she narrates a chilling and terrible tale.
04/25/1979 0974 Letter of Love, Letter of Death A police detective puts his career on the line in order to prove the innocence of the rival of a murdered theatrical producer when he is accused of the crime.
07/04/1979 0994 The Great White Shark An arrogant millionaire takes his wife on a charter boat and the ship's captain is enthralled by her beauty. Despite his emotions, he cannot dispel the anger he feels as he seeks vengeance on the shark that claimed his limb.
10/31/1979 1026 Who Has Seen the Wind? In a freak accident, a claustrophobic woman is trapped in her home. Help comes in the form of a friend and her husband whose attempts to free her from the apartment are futile.
12/19/1979 1040 Shadow of a Lover An actor playing the role of a police detective in a drama series finds himself sucked into the delusional world of a woman hooked on romance films when she asks him to help her locate her missing husband. Things start to get sticky when the actor begins to confuse fantasy with reality.
06/09/1980 1092 That Magic Touch Christmas works a miracle for a beautiful divorcee and her cold and standoffish husband in a remote hunting lodge. Their plans to start anew are ruined when past hurts resurface.
03/16/1981 1172 Maiden Ladies While performing the deed of a Good Samaritan, a young man is brutally slain while assisting a wealthy man with a flat tire. His aunt takes matters into her own hands when the local police refuse to pursue the case.
06/29/1981 1214 Waking and Sleeping Despite having everything his heart desires, a man finds there is a void in his life and only the Black Feral Dog in the park can help him unravel the mystery.
07/31/1981 1228 A Penny for Your Thoughts A local reporter encounters a woman with a paranoid belief that her spouse is out to get her. When she digs deeper, the journalist discovers a strange tale involving a manipulative and mythical temptress.
08/17/1981 1234 The Thracian Lovers In defense of the homicide charges filed against him for the deaths of his wife and her lover, a delusional man claims that he is the reincarnation of ancient Greece's King Uranus of Thrace.
09/21/1981 1244 Diablo In order to take over a turquoise mine, a journalist blackmails the owner. Her professed intentions seem honorable but the workers wonder about what she is really after.
10/23/1981 1253 The Most Necessary Evil Detective Lieutenant Crane investigates into the mysterious death of a man after his wife narrates the story of their suspicious rise in wealth and stature.
02/22/1982 1293 Nickels and Dimes Undercover cop Ray Vance becomes so immersed living his life as the heir apparent to Big Joe's East Side organization that he begins to dread going back to the boring life of a police officer.
04/09/1982 1313 You Tell Me Your Dream Two strangers suffer through a recurring dream at the same time in which they are attacked by a faceless predator. When Ed Larsen meets Mark Howgate, they learn of their shared problem and work together to unravel the dream's meaning. Little do they know that their troubles have just begun.
05/03/1982 1323 Guilty as Charged A hardware salesman must rely on a polygraph test to prove his innocence when he is pegged as the suspect for a series of crimes he did not have any involvement in.
10/04/1982 1377 The Ninth Commandment In a strange turn of events, a wealthy woman falls for a man who tries to break into her house. When he is later arrested for homicide, he sacrifices his freedom for the sake of keeping her safe.

6 Responses to Tolan Michael

I loved Michael Tolan's voice! I recognized him from that voice when he would appear on television. He played Mary Tyler Moore's on again/off again boyfriend in The Mary Tyler Moore Show in the 1970s.

Lori

Reply
Me too Lori. I think the synopsis of his career written above does not give him credit for a distinguished career in t.v. I recently watched a video on You Tube. He was doing a reading at his Alma Mater in 2009. In his early 80's at the time, he still had that wonderful voice and his good looks.

Celine

Reply
He also appeared on The Outer Limits episode "The Zanti Misfits". His profile on wiki does not even mention his radio career. What a fine actor. My favorite RMT episode that he was in was "The Woman In The Green Dress"

Winslow Swan

Reply
May you be in peace where ever you are. And now a moment of silence.

Robert Kent

Reply
Micheal Tolan's career started in the 1940s on radio programs like the Green Hornet and the Lone Ranger. He appeared in a number of Broadway productions and in over 80 films and television programs, mostly TV dramas and sitcoms but is probably best remembered as Dan Whitfield, a reoccurring love interest on the Mary Tyler Moore show.

Charlie

Reply
A face for the screen and among the best-sounding voices ever. It’s nice that he had the most natural acting chops to match that voice. I think he was one of the greats. Sometimes I pick from one of the 44 episodes he did to hear that voice and how he interprets his characters. Great instincts as an actor. He breathes life into imperfect scripts and makes them believable. Every writer should be so lucky to end up with him in the cast.

Ken

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