| Mike Henry | |
|---|---|
 Mike Henry appeared as Lt. Col. Donald Penobscott, Margaret's new husband, in the Season 6 M*A*S*H episode "The M*A*S*H Olympics". | |
| Personal Information | |
| Born: | August 15, 1936 |
| Birthplace | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died: | January 8, 2021 (aged 84) |
| Years active: | 1963-1988 |
| Character information | |
| Appeared on/in: | M*A*S*H |
| Character(s) played: | Lt. Colonel Donald Penobscott |
Michael Dennis "Mike" Henry (born August 15, 1936 in Los Angeles, California) appeared as Lt. Colonel Donald Penobscott in Season 6, Episode 10, of the television series M*A*S*H titled "The M*A*S*H Olympics", replacing actor Beeson Carroll in the role. Mike, who is also well known for his role in the Smokey and the Bandit film series, is also a former pro football linebacker.
Football career[]
Henry's football career was as a collegiate linebacker for USC, and then as a professional player for the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers (1958–1961) and the Los Angeles Rams (1962–1964) led him to be noticed by Warner Brothers Studios.
Acting career[]
His most prominent role was as Tarzan in three 1960s movies, Tarzan and the Valley of Gold (1966), Tarzan and the Great River (1967), and Tarzan and the Jungle Boy (1968), that were all filmed back-to-back in 1965. Henry turned down the lead of the subsequent Tarzan television series, which then went to actor Ron Ely.
Henry is also best known to movie audiences for playing opposite Jackie Gleason as "Junior", the dim-witted son of Sherriff Buford T. Justice in the Smokey and the Bandit films opposite Burt Reynolds and Sally Field, after portraying a corrupt prison guard (opposite Reynolds) in The Longest Yard. Another football-playing role was as one of the members of the gang who kidnap "Larry Bronco" (Larry Csonka) in an episode of "The Six Million Dollar Man". Henry also portrayed "Sergeant Kowalski" in The Green Berets and the corrupt sheriff "Blue Tom" Hendricks in Rio Lobo.
Later life/Death[]
After contracting Parkinson's disease, he retired from acting. Mike married actress Cheryl Sweeney November 1984. He died on January 8, 2021, from complications from Parkinson's disease, and from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), possibly from hits taken from his days in college / pro football, as many in contact sports, such as football or boxing have suffered from after ending their athletic careers.
