Tom Troupe, a prolific stage and screen actor known for his work in 1960s television shows “Mission: Impossible” and “Star Trek,” died on Sunday, just five days after celebrating his 97th birthday.
Troupe, who was married to actress Carole Cook from 1964 until her death in 2023, died of natural causes at his home in Beverly Hills, his publicist, B. Harlan Boll, confirmed in an online statement.
Troupe was born on July 15, 1928, in Kansas City, Missouri.
He performed in various local theater productions before relocating to New York City in 1948. He won an acting scholarship to the Herbert Berghof Studio and studied with theater luminary Uta Hagen.
Troupe went on to serve in the Korean War, earning a Bronze Star Medal for his service. Several years after returning to New York, he made his Broadway debut in a 1957 production of “The Diary of Anne Frank.” Troupe also appeared in “The Lion in Winter,” “Father’s Day,” and “The Gin Game.”
In 1958, he moved to Los Angeles, where he made a name for himself on the screen.
Throughout a decades-long career in Hollywood, Troupe’s more than 70 roles included those in the television series “The Fugitive,” “The Wild Wild West,” “The Rookies,” “The F.B.I.,” “Cannon,” “CHiPs,” “Quincy, M.E.,” “Cheers,” “Highway to Heaven,” “Murder, She Wrote,” “Knots Landing,” “Frasier,” and “ER.” He also starred in several films, among them “The Devil’s Brigade” (1968), “Kelly’s Heroes” (1970), “Summer School” (1987), and “My Own Private Idaho” (1991).
Troupe, who was also a writer and director, was fondly remembered online by fans, friends, and peers.
On Facebook, “Grey’s Anatomy” actor Mason McCulley described Troupe as “one of the greatest men” he had ever known.
Troupe’s nephew Mark Cocanougher wrote that the “Mission: Impossible” actor had “a lovely, full life, and an equally graceful departure.”
In addition to his many nieces and nephews, Troupe is survived by his son, Christopher Troupe, daughter-in-law, Becky Coulter, and granddaughter, Ashley Troupe.