Usually, when we see nepotism connected with The Rockford Files, it’s people who have a long-time connection with James Garner. (It’s worth noting that I don’t shame him for this; if you get used to working with people whose abilities you trust, good for you.) Today, however, we will be examining a man whose Pasadena Playhouse roommate was Stuart Margolin who went on to do an episode. Given he’d been working in TV and movies since 1962, it’s not as though Margolin was the only person giving an old friend a break. Still, it’s amusing to find the connection and funny that, for once, it’s not Garner.
Sid Haig was born Sidney Eddie Mosesian, one of many Armenian people to grow up in Fresno, California. As a boy, he grew incredibly fast, leading to motor skills issues. He took dance lessons for it. His first paid gigs were as a dancer. He was also a musician, reaching #4 in the charts in 1958, with a song called “Full House” and a band called The T-Birds. In high school, he was a member of the drama department, taught by former Broadway actress Alice Merrill. Minor actor Dennis Morgan saw him in a play his senior year and encouraged him to act for a living. In a couple of years, Haig would be studying at the Playhouse.
You’ve probably seen his face. Especially if you’re either a horror buff or a connoisseur of ‘70s and ‘80s TV. (Long-time readers will know which category I tend to fall into.) His first TV appearance was on the old Untouchables TV show, and just a few years later he made his horror debut in the Corman-produced Blood Bath, playing, sigh, Abdul the Arab. (He’s definitely one of those guys who played People From Everywhere; his first movie role was a guy named Diego.) He’s got a Memory Alpha page for appearing in the Classic Trek “The Return of the Archons.” And, yeah, he made seven Corman movies, admittedly not all horror.
I suspect the Corman is how Rob Zombie thought of him before casting Haig in his own movies. In fact, I suspect a lot of the work he did in his last couple of decades was old-school horror fans casting Haig because of his credentials. That said, he did earn those credentials. The man did a lot of acting, and he was definitely skilled at it. I’d also note that he’s listed by IMDb as being in the ‘60s Edd Byrne vehicle Beach Ball as “drummer for the Righteous Brothers (uncredited),” and it seems probable that he is actually doing his own drumming, not just miming it for the sake of the camera.
Okay, so he’s also got one of those careers where the names of what he’s been in are delightful. I know that The Big Bird House has a break between “big” and “bird,” but I am a child of my generation and picture Big Bird in prison. Death Car on the Freeway is very clear about its plot, if nothing else. Ditto Beware! The Blob. Jason of Star Command amuses me for reasons I have a hard time articulating in part because I go into a tangent about Greek mythology and why it’s not that silly. And, of course, the ever-popular Chu Chu and the Philly Flash. His three episodes of Just the Ten of Us, however, are funny as a contrast.