Don Galloway

The dependable face of the office

Some actors get stuck behind a desk and a poker face for a decade. Don Galloway was one of them. His image became inseparable from detective Ed Brown in the series Ironside. He worked side by side with Raymond Burr for eight straight seasons.

Galloway was born in Brooksville in 1937. He studied drama at the University of Kentucky and soon realized that his serious-looking build would open doors in 1960s television. He didn't want to be an erratic star. He wanted craft.

In 1963, he landed a role in Arrest and Trial, which put him on the radar of Los Angeles casting directors. He signed a contract with Universal that guaranteed steady work but demanded iron-clad discipline.

And the gamble paid off.

During the years filming Ironside, the actor became a household face across the United States and much of the world. His character was the physical and dynamic counterpoint to Robert Ironside's sedentary genius. But Galloway knew that television was a double-edged sword for any long-term career.

A refuge in modern classics

Many viewers knew him only for his police badge. However, his most prestigious moment in film came years after he hung up the uniform. In 1983, Lawrence Kasdan cast him in the ensemble of The Big Chill.

He played Richard, the pragmatic husband of Mary Kay Place's character. It was a difficult role because he had to represent normalcy against a group of friends in the middle of an existential crisis. That shoot was an exercise in restraint alongside names like Glenn Close and Jeff Goldblum.

The industry saw him as a safe bet.

Galloway wasn't intimidated by the glow of his co-stars. His performance brought the grounded realism a film needed to become the definitive generational portrait of the 1980s. It was his big break on the big screen, and he seized it without fuss.

In 1985, he decided to try his luck in daytime drama. He joined the cast of the soap opera General Hospital to bring Buzz Strickland to life. He also appeared in productions such as Murder, She Wrote and Matlock, always maintaining the sober presence that had defined him since his early days in theater.

Retreat to the classroom

He had no interest in the noise of red carpets or constant spotlights. In 1993, he reprised his most famous role in the TV movie The Return of Ironside. It was the last time he shared the screen with Burr before Burr passed away. The reunion closed a professional circle that had spanned nearly thirty years.

From the nineties on, he chose to appear on screen far less often. He moved to California and began teaching acting classes. He also devoted time to writing opinion columns for local newspapers, where he analyzed the political landscape with the same rigor he brought to his scripts.

His last credited appearance was in 1995.

He suffered a stroke in early 2009 at his home in Reno. Don Galloway died on January 8 of that same year at Renown Regional Medical Center at the age of 71. His funeral was a private event, far from the cameras that had recorded him for half his life. His remains were cremated and returned to his family.