Kenneth E. "Ken" Lynch (July 15, 1910 – February 13, 1990) was a Cleveland, Ohio-born American radio, film, and TV actor credited with more than 180 credits to his name. He was generally known for portraying law enforcement officers and detectives. He may have been best known for his starring role as 'the Lieutenant' on Dumont detective series The Plainclothesman (1949–54), on which his face was never seen, and for his co-starring role as Sergeant Grover on McCloud.

Biography

Early life
Kenneth E. Lynch was born in 1910 in Cleveland, Ohio. His mother's maiden name was Dietzel.


Career
He made his acting debut in 1940 on The Bishop and The Gargoyle radio series. He played the Gargoyle, replacing Milton Herman, who had previously portrayed the character. From 1942-1946, Ken Lynch provided the voice of Tank, the mechanic, who aides the title character in Hop Harrigan. In 1950, he starred in One Thousand Dollars Reward, a rare crime drama, where after the crime play had ended, the host would place a call to a random listener, who would try to solve the mystery. He also appeared on the radio shows The Falcon, 21st Precinct and Gunsmoke.

Lynch appeared in numerous TV series. He made three guest appearances on Perry Mason, including the role of Wallace Lang in "The Case of the Stuttering Bishop" in 1959, and Robert Hayden in "The Case of the Irate Inventor" in 1960. He also appeared on Peter Gunn, Zorro, Have Gun - Will Travel, Checkmate ("Cyanide Touch"), The Fugitive, The Andy Griffith Show, Adam-12, Star Trek ("The Devil in the Dark"), All In The Family, The Twilight Zone, The Rifleman, and Maverick. In the 1970s he made 16 guest appearances in the TV series McCloud. He previously appeared in 12 episodes of Gunsmoke, ten episodes of The F.B.I., nine episodes of Bonanza, and six episodes in both The Virginian and Gomer Pyle, USMC. Among the films in which he appeared are I Married a Monster from Outer Space, North By Northwest, Pork Chop Hill, and Anatomy of a Murder. His last role was in the 1983 miniseries The Winds of War.


Death
Lynch died from a virus on February 13, 1990 in Burbank, California.