When I was a kid he seemed to appear on every show now and then (in those days Love American Style, Fantasy Island, and The Love Boat made sure all actors got at least one roll per year – plus there were lots daytime talk shows like Merv, and Mike, and Dinah). Besides talk shows and game shows, there were also variety shows, so I knew of him mostly as himself and thought of him as a nice, polite, and mildly funny guy from Hollywood.
But my first recollection when I heard the news, was his appearance on an episode of TWO AND A HALF MEN. He played an aging man with a young trophy wife whom Charlie was (of course) banging. He knocked on the door and hit the man he believed was cuckolding him with his cane. But in a later scene he is sitting (on the deck?) telling someone about the babes he scored back in his day. I thought it was quite funny because the names were so old even I barely remembered who they were. He really delivered the lines with humor – while making fun of himself as a has-been. “Do you know who Joey Heatherton is?” “No, well she was really something, and I nailed her in her prime!”
He managed to remain charming even while playing a grumpy old man who was seeking retribution, and was none too perfect himself – back in his prime.
