Mike Connors, who starred as a hard-hitting private eye on the long-running television series "Mannix," has died. "Up until Mannix, most private investigators were hard-nosed, cynical guys who lived in a seedy area and had no emotions," Connors theorized in 1997. Connors also starred in the TV series "Tightrope!" In an era when film actors were given names like Tab and Rock, he appeared as Touch Connors — "Touch" being his basketball nickname. In addition to his wife, daughter and son-in-law, Connors is survived by a granddaughter, Cooper Wills.

Source: ABC News January 27, 2017 03:15 UTC