kevin

A native New Yorker, Kevin Dobson was born and raised in Jackson Heights, a Queens community within earshot of Manhattan. It was in 1966, while attending New York University and earning his tuition as a trainman on the Long Island Railroad, that his then girlfriend, now wife, first urged him to try his hand at acting in commercials.
Shortly thereafter, he auditioned for his first play, "The Impossible Years." starring Tom Ewell, and was cast and toured with the comedy through 44 states and 98 cities.
The end of the tour took him back to New York where he enrolled at Sanford Meisner's respected Neighborhood Playhouse. Never afraid of hard work, Dobson held a series of jobs that are well-known to most New-York actors: waiter, bartender and taxi driver. His diligence paid off and he found himself with small roles in such feature films as "Love Story," "Klute" and "The French Connection," all filmed in New York. It was during this time that he also appeared in a number of off-off Broadway plays.
In 1971, Dobson moved to Los Angeles and, upon arriving was soon cast in an episode of "The Mod Squad." His "day job" at this time was as a fireman on the Santa Fe Railroad. An understudy role in the L.A. revival of "A Streetcar Named Desire" followed and then came his biggest break: he was chosen to play Detective Crocker in the popular television series "Kojak."
Five years and more than 100 episodes later, Dobson had become well-known to millions of "Kojak" fans, a fact apparent to "Knots Landing" producers when they were looking for someone to play an honest, hard-driving Federal prosecutor who ultimately marries Karen Fairgate (Michele Lee).
Dobson has appeared in a wide range of projects since his arrival in Hollywood, among them starring roles in the series "Shannon" and "Tales of the Unexpected." His television movie credits include "Transplant," "Orphan Train," "Hardhat and Legs," "Reunion," "Mark, I love You" and "Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer" and "Sweet Revenge," as well as the CBS afternoon Playhouse drama "Help Wanted."
Dobson starred in "Money, Power, Murder," a made-for-television movie which aired last season on the CBS television Network. Interestingly, his wife Susan Dobson served as executive producer on the project.
In 1979, he was the recipient of the United States Jaycees Outstanding Young Men In America Award for Professional Achievement and Community Service. His favorite charities are the Retinitis Pigmentosa Foundation, Muscular Dystrophy Association, JWCC and the Special Olympics, to which he devotes a great deal of his free time. In addition, Dobson is the 1989-'90 Chairman of the National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans, a role which takes him to veterans hospitals throughout the country to help raise national consciousness towards hospitalized and disabled veterans. In conjunction with this active position, Dobson was invited to the White House, at which time he met with President George Bush to discuss volunteerism.
Dobson is an active sportsman. He and his wife Susan are the parents of three children and spent much of their time on family outings and involved in family-oriented sports.