Actors/actresses representing certain areas

Who is at least one actor/actress who is said to represent a specific area because of the success of the series that said actor/actress was in that was set and/or filmed/taped in that area?

One I've known of is the great, late Jack Lord; his 1968-80 Five-O is and has been considered one of the classics of television, and Jack Lord, even 20 years after his death, is still considered to represent Hawaii by a good many Hawaiians (and possibly many mainlanders), all because of the success and classic status of that series on CBS then (at least that's how I've heard it).

How many do you know of?

 

I grew up in Hawaii when I was little and remember so vividly watching the pilot for Hawaii Five-O. wOW!!! Blew my mind. A total James Bond pilot with a sinister mastermind who straps him into some kind of brain torture machine. I was SOLD!

On a side note: A kid a worked with at a record store had a punk band named "Jack Lord's Hair." Bwah!

 

Did not know that! That's interesting to hear!

There are also a pair of actors who (IINM) are considered very highly to represent San Francisco; Karl Malden and Michael Douglas by names, who with the success of that Streets of San Francisco police/detective series on ABC from 1972-77 (Malden being Lt. Mike Stone, and Douglas being Inspector Steve Keller [Douglas was in from 1972-76; the late Richard Hatch replaced him for the final season in 1976-77 as Inspector Dan Robbins]), are considered to represent the Bay Area (perhaps not to the extent of Jack Lord and Hawaii, but big in S.F. nonetheless in their own right).

 

As I recall Jack Lord was so popular both political parties sought him out to run for office under their respective banner.

I've heard a lot of rumors about him over the years, but he knew how to run a show.

 

I was thinking of Lydia Bruce, who played Dr. Maggie Hansen on The Doctors. If there's any actor on a soap that looks like a medical professional, it's her.

 

New York City

 

The late John Ritter was on “The Tonight Show” and he was asked about his early years as an actor (I forget who was the host). John said he guested on “Hawaii Five-O” and Jack Lord actually showed up at the airport to pick him up and greeted him with “Welcome to MY island!” LOL

 

I would think Magnum P.I.’s Tom Selleck has replaced Jack Lord for Hawaii.

How about Don Johnson for Miami (Vice) ?

 

I'll go with James Garner in The Rockford Files. We sure got a gander at mid-70s LA, not to mention Gretchen Corbett.

 

Buddy Ebsen - Beverly Hills
Will Smith - Bel Air



Andy Griffith - North Carolina (Mount Airy)


Not a from a TV series but from a movie. How about Sylvester Stallone for Philadelphia? (There's a statue of him there, for crying out loud.)