A lanky, prolific actor with blond hair, a perennially furrowed brow and more than a touch of grit in his voice, a reliable tough hero, authority figure and villain for half a century, Lloyd Bridges spent an ever-increasing amount of time in in school plays while studying political science at UCLA. Encouraged by esteemed playwright Sidney Howard, he joined a touring company of "The Taming of the Shrew" upon graduation. He soon signed a standard seven-year contract with Columbia and made over 30 film appearances in 1941 and 1942 alone. Bridges wasn't getting anywhere in his series of small roles, though, and began free-lancing in 1945. His first breakthrough came as the friend of a Black WWII vet psychologically damaged both by the war and by bigotry in the striking "Home of the Brave" (1949). A sturdy character player and occasional lead, Bridges did well in "Rocketship X-M", "The White Tower" (both 1950), and "The Whistle at Eaton Falls (1951) until his next landmark, his splendid turn as Gary Cooper's callow deputy in "High Noon" (1952).

Often cast as cowboys, heavies or jilted suitors in supporting roles, Bridges played leads in several low-budget entries for Lippert Pictures ("The Limping Man" 1953, "Deadly Game" 1954) and one of Katharine Hepburn's brothers in the stagy but more prestigious "The Rainmaker" (1956), but it took a move to TV to make him a household name. Over the course of four decades Bridges would try his hand at eight TV series, but his most successful and best-remembered was his first, "Sea Hunt" (syndicated, 1957-61), with the star as ex-Navy frogman turned underwater troubleshooter Mike Nelson. Waterlogged fare would continue to surface in his credits in future years ("Around the World Under the Sea" 1966, "Scuba" 1972) while the actor followed up with series including the dramatic anthology "The Lloyd Bridges Show" (CBS, 1962-63), with the star as a journalist sharing stories from his files each week, and "The Loner" (CBS, 1965-66), which capitalized on his fierce squint and leathery persona.

An incredible number of TV-movies and miniseries would keep the now silver-haired Bridges busy in the 1970s and 80s, many of them forgettable, but some ("Haunts of the Very Rich" 1972, ABC's landmark "Roots" 1977) very good indeed. Bridges displayed a game willingness to parody his stolid authority roles and his occasionally hammy (but always succulent) acting style in the outrageous Abrahams-Zucker genre spoofs "Airplane" (1980) and "Airplane II: The Sequel" (1982). He also enjoyed himself immensely in later series like "Paper Dolls" (ABC, 1984), as a power-crazy executive, and TV-movies such as "Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean" (CBS, 1990), as the hotelier's feckless husband Harry. Bridges continued in spoof vein as a bumbling admiral in Abrahams's "Top Gun" parody "Hot Shots" (1991) and its sequel "Hot Shots, Part Deux" (1993). He was the father of actors Beau and Jeff Bridges, who appeared on "The Lloyd Bridges Show" and who later acted with their father in credits ranging from "Tucker: The Man and His Dream" (1988) to "Blown Away" (1994) and the series "Harts of the West (CBS, 1993). Before his death, Bridges had completed roles in the comedy spoof "Jane Austen's Mafia" and starred with son Beau in "Meeting Daddy" (both 1998).