Spencer Milligan, known for his work on the Saturday morning comedy from the 1970s, Land of The Lost, has passed away. According to Deadline, the cause of death has yet to be revealed to the public. Milligan was 86 years old.
While his passing has officially been made public, Deadline has found that the family kept the news of his death under wraps for a small amount of time before making it public knowledge. According to an obituary, the actor passed away on April 18. Other than the specific date of the actor’s death, no other details have been made public out of respect for the actor and his family.
Milligan was born September 19, 1937, in Oak Park, IL, right outside the city of Chicago. Prior to his screen debut and his time in the Army, Milligan was a stage actor in the 1960s. After that he made the transition to film and television, with his first on-screen appearance being in a comedy by Woody Allen in 1973. After that, he appeared in feature films in the 70s such as The Man from Clover Grove and The Photographer.
Milligan then started to work very regularly in television rather than film. His work spanned several decades as he worked on shows such as Gunsmoke, Beretta, McCloud, The Bionic Woman, Alice, The Dukes of Hazzard, Vega$, Hardcastle & McCormick, and Quincy, M.E.. He also had a recurring role in the series General Hospital until 1987.
While his work spanned through the 70s and 80s, Milligan was most known for his work in the series Land of the Lost. He played the character Rick Marshall, a father who got thrown into an alternate universe with his two kids where dinosaurs roam free. The three characters then journey through the land trying to escape and return back to their home universe.
Milligan was in the show from the years 1974 to 1976 before his character eventually escaped the Land of the Lost by accident, without his kids. His role was filled by another adult actor and continued for one more season.
Since his time in television, Milligan taught acting classes and directed plays in Sturgeon Bay, WI. He is survived by Kerry Milligan, his wife, Andree Solis, Hilary Williams, and Spencer Williams, his godchildren. The family has asked that if there are donations made in his name they should be made out to the Entertainment Community Fund, which is formally known as The Actor’s Fund.