Mike Connors

Mike Connors (born Kreker Ohanian August 15, 1925) is an American actor best known for playing detective Joe Mannix in the CBS television series, Mannix. Connors' acting career spans six decades; in addition to his work on television, he has appeared in numerous films.

Early years

Of Armenian descent, Connors was born Kreker J. Ohanian in Fresno, California. He was an avid basketball player in high school who was nicknamed "Touch" by his teammates. During World War II he served in the United States Army Air Forces. After the war he attended the University of California at Los Angeles on a basketball scholarship, where he played under coach John Wooden. He was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. Director William A. Wellman got him into acting after noticing his expressive face while Connors was playing basketball. He appeared on the Los Angeles CBS station as "Touch" Connors in an episode of Jukebox Jury before the program went national via ABC in 1953. Connors is credited in his early films, such as Island in the Sky (1953), Swamp Women (a.k.a. Swamp Diamonds), Five Guns West (1955), The Day the World Ended (1955), and Flesh and the Spur (1957) as "Touch Connors".