DENNIS FIMPLE: CHARACTER ACTOR

By Variety Staff

Variety, September 5, 2002

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Longtime character actor Dennis Fimple died Aug. 23 of natural causes at his home in Frazier Park near Bakersfield. He was 61.

A native of Taft, Calif., he began appearing in TV character roles in the 1960s in shows such as "Petticoat Junction," "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.," "Green Acres" and "Here Come the Brides."

A ubiquitous presence on network television during the 1970s, he essayed roles on "Alias Smith and Jones," "MASH," "Kung Fu," "The Rockford Files," "Charlie's Angels" and "The Dukes of Hazzard."

In more recent years, he appeared in segments of "Weird Science," "ER," "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" and "Providence."

Feature credits included "King Kong," "Going South," "Five Easy Pieces," "Swing Shift" and "The New Maverick."

Fimple appears in Rob Zombie's "House of 1000 Corpses," skedded to be released early next year.

He is survived by his son, actor Chris Fimple.