More Than Rockford's Shady Friend
Stuart Margolin became unforgettable as Jim Rockford's conniving friend Angel Martin, winning two Emmys for the role NBC initially resisted. Yet Margolin's remarkable six-decade career also encompassed songwriting, screenwriting, directing, movies, and a long friendship with James Garner that created classic TV again and again.
A Difficult Beginning
Stuart Margolin was born January 31, 1940, in Davenport, Iowa, and spent much of his childhood in Dallas. The second of four children, he later described himself as a youthful "hoodlum," more interested in showing off and causing trouble than following the expectations of parents Morris and Gertrude Margolin.
Schools Couldn't Hold Him
Margolin's behavior repeatedly got him expelled from Texas public schools. His parents sent him to boarding school in Tennessee before he eventually attended a private school in Dallas. Years later, the mischievous qualities that caused youthful trouble would become enormously useful to his acting.
Performing Came Naturally
Margolin had actually begun acting remarkably early, playing Puck in a local production of A Midsummer Night's Dream at eight. He later insisted he hadn't possessed some burning childhood ambition for theatrical greatness. Performing simply provided a productive outlet for his instinctive desire to entertain people and attract attention.
Hollywood Beckons
After high school, Margolin headed to California and studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse. Television work followed quickly. He made his screen debut in 1961 on The Gertrude Berg Show, also known as Mrs. G. Goes to College, beginning an extraordinary run of small television roles.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
Television's Familiar New Face
Throughout the 1960s, Margolin became the kind of actor viewers recognized without necessarily knowing his name. He appeared on The Fugitive, 12 O'Clock High, Gunsmoke, The Virginian, Bewitched, The Monkees, The F.B.I., and That Girl, steadily developing his specialty in eccentric and unpredictable characters.
Screenshot from 12 O'Clock High, ABC (1964–1967), Modified
His First Movie
Margolin's first feature-film credit came as Chief in writer-director Arthur C. Pierce's low-budget science-fiction adventure Women of the Prehistoric Planet (1966). The cast included Wendell Corey, John Agar, Keith Larsen, Merry Anders, and Irene Tsu. Though it wasn't exactly a cinematic masterpiece, the film gave the increasingly busy television actor an early foothold in movies.
Screenshot from Women of the Prehistoric Planet, Realart Pictures (1966), Modified
Another Creative Life
Acting wasn't Margolin's only creative outlet. During the 1960s, he developed a close friendship and songwriting partnership with musician Jerry Riopelle. Margolin became associated with Riopelle's band the Parade, co-writing material and playing percussion, beginning a musical collaboration that would continue alongside his increasingly successful television career.
Gijsbert Hanekroot, Getty Images
Other Singers Recorded Him
Margolin's songwriting wasn't merely a private hobby. Songs he helped write were recorded by artists including R.B. Greaves and Gary Lewis and the Playboys. Riopelle subsequently included Margolin compositions throughout his solo career, while their jointly written material demonstrated just how far Margolin's talents extended beyond acting.
Gijsbert Hanekroot, Getty Images
Writing Andy Crocker
Margolin wrote ABC's The Ballad of Andy Crocker, and served as an associate producer for the film, which starred Lee Majors, Joey Heatherton, Pat Hingle, Jimmy Dean, and Marvin Gaye. Broadcast in 1969, the television movie was among the earliest screen dramas to confront the difficult reintegration of Vietnam veterans returning to civilian American life.
Screenshot from The Ballad of Andy Crocker, ABC (1969), Modified
Ahead Of Television
Today, Andy Crocker's alienation would readily be discussed in terms of post-traumatic stress. In 1969, mainstream television was barely addressing returning Vietnam veterans at all. Margolin also co-wrote the title song, making The Ballad of Andy Crocker an unusually personal early demonstration of his writing, producing, and musical abilities.
Screenshot from The Ballad of Andy Crocker, ABC (1969), Modified
Joining Kelly's Heroes
Margolin's movie career continued with a supporting role as Private Little Joe in Brian G. Hutton's World War II caper Kelly's Heroes (1970). Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Don Rickles, Donald Sutherland, and Carroll O'Connor headed the ensemble, while Margolin continued balancing film appearances with prolific television work.
Screenshot from Kelly's Heroes, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1970)
Enter James Garner
The most consequential professional relationship of Margolin's career began with NBC's offbeat Western Nichols. James Garner starred as motorcycle-riding Sheriff Nichols, while Margolin played slippery deputy Mitch Mitchell. The characters' exasperated relationship anticipated Jim Rockford and Angel Martin, and Margolin and Garner became enduring friends.
Screenshot from Nichols, NBC (1971–1972)
He Chose Garner
Margolin later recalled having an opportunity connected with The Mary Tyler Moore Show but choosing Nichols because working with Garner sounded more enjoyable. The Western lasted only one season, yet the decision proved enormously consequential. Margolin had found a star who understood exactly how to use his unusual comic talents.
Screenshot from Nichols, NBC (1971–1972)
Movies Keep Calling
After Nichols, Margolin continued to pop up everywhere. He joined Charles Bronson in Michael Winner's The Stone Killer (1973), then appeared with Bronson again in Winner's controversial vigilante drama Death Wish (1974). That same year, he appeared alongside James Caan in Karel Reisz's The Gambler (1974).
Screenshot from Death Wish, Paramount Pictures (1974)
Rockford Needs An Angel
Garner returned to television as private investigator Jim Rockford in NBC's The Rockford Files, created by Roy Huggins and Stephen J. Cannell. Margolin became Evelyn "Angel" Martin, Rockford's former San Quentin cellmate, a chronically dishonest hustler whose schemes almost inevitably dragged his reluctant friend into trouble.
Screenshot from The Rockford Files, NBC (1974–1980)
Angel Was Shifty
Angel wasn't the dependable sidekick audiences expected from detective television. He lied, panicked, schemed, double-crossed Rockford, and generally looked after himself first. Margolin nevertheless gave the character enough nervous charm that viewers understood why Rockford somehow tolerated him, even when Angel's latest brilliant plan predictably became a disaster.
Screenshot from The Rockford Files, NBC (1974–1980)
NBC Wanted Him Gone
According to Garner's autobiography The Garner Files: A Memoir (2011), NBC executives disliked Margolin's performance and objected after his early appearances. Garner loved what Margolin was doing and kept bringing him back despite the network's resistance. Eventually, Angel became one of the series' defining recurring characters, appearing in nearly 40 episodes.
Screenshot from The Rockford Files, NBC (1974–1980)
Angel Got The Last Laugh
NBC's doubts eventually looked spectacularly misplaced. Margolin's nervy, duplicitous Angel became an awards favorite, and in 1979 he won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Garner later delighted in recalling how network executives who had resisted Margolin ultimately became eager to secure his services.
Screenshot from The Rockford Files, NBC (1974–1980)
He Did It Again
Margolin proved the first victory was no fluke. In 1980, he won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the second consecutive year. Angel Martin, the character NBC had initially wanted removed, had made Margolin one of the rare performers to win the supporting-drama Emmy twice for the same role.
Screenshot from The Rockford Files, NBC (1974–1980)
Working Behind The Camera
Margolin simultaneously developed an extensive directing career. His credits eventually included episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Wonder Woman, The Love Boat, Magnum, P.I., Quantum Leap, and Northern Exposure. He even directed episodes of The Rockford Files, proving his importance to television extended well beyond Angel.
Screenshot from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, CBS (1970–1977)
Movies And Music Continue
Margolin also appeared in Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven (1978) with Richard Gere and Brooke Adams, and Blake Edwards's S.O.B. (1981) with Julie Andrews. In 1980, he released his own album, And the Angel Sings, performing songs connected to his long collaboration with Jerry Riopelle.
Screenshot from Days of Heaven, Paramount Pictures (1978)
Reuniting With Garner
Margolin's friendship with Garner repeatedly spilled back onto the screen. He appeared on Garner's Western Bret Maverick, then directed, co-starred in, scored, and co-produced HBO's The Glitter Dome (1984), featuring Garner, Margot Kidder, and John Lithgow. Their creative partnership had long since outgrown The Rockford Files.
Screenshot from Bret Maverick, NBC (1981–1982)
Directing Earns Recognition
Margolin became sufficiently accomplished behind the camera to earn major recognition there as well. He received an Emmy nomination for directing The Tracey Ullman Show and a Directors Guild nomination for Northern Exposure. He later won a DGA Award for directing the family film Salt Water Moose (1996).
Fox Broadcasting Company, Wikimedia Commons
Angel Returns Again
Beginning in 1994, CBS revived The Rockford Files as a series of eight television movies. Garner returned as Rockford, Joe Santos as Dennis Becker, and Margolin as the incorrigible Angel. Margolin appeared in all eight reunion films and even directed two of the later installments.
Screenshot from The Rockford Files, CBS (1994)
He Never Really Stopped
Margolin remained active for decades, appearing on The X-Files, 30 Rock, The Bridge, and Republic of Doyle, whose creators acknowledged The Rockford Files influence. He also worked with his stepchildren, including actor Max Martini and filmmaker Christopher Martini, while continuing to write, direct, compose, and perform.
Screenshot from The X-Files, Fox (1993–2018)
The Angel's Legacy
Margolin died December 12, 2022, aged 82, after living with pancreatic cancer. He left behind wife Patricia, three stepchildren, six decades of performances, two Emmys, directing honors, songs, and screenplays. Angel Martin made him famous, but Margolin's restless creativity made him far more accomplished than that lovable weasel suggested.
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