Fans of classic television were saddened this past week to learn that beloved actor Earl Holliman had passed away at the age of 96. 

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Holliman died on Monday while undergoing hospice care at his home in Studio City, California.

Holliman was adopted when he was just one week old

The magazine explained that Holliman was born in Delhi, Louisiana six months after the death of his biological father and was subsequently adopted out of an orphanage when he was just one week old.

"I had wonderful parents who gave me all the love in the world," the future actor once recalled of the couple who had raised him.

Holliman further stressed that he was his adoptive parents' "only child" and that they "encouraged me to be whatever I can be."

After serving in the U.S. Navy, Holliman studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse and made his first film appearance in the 1953 comedy "Scared Stiff" with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.

Actor found success on the small screen

After a series of small film roles, Holliman turned to the small screen and landed a role on the first-ever episode of "The Twilight Zone."

This was followed by a string of credits on "Gunsmoke," "Cannon," "Bonanza," "Slattery’s People," "The Fugitive," "Dr. Kildare," "The Six Million Dollar Man," "Empty Nest," "Murder, She Wrote," and "Caroline in the City."

Holliman went on to portray Lt. Bill Crowley from 1974 to 1978 on NBC's "Police Woman" alongside Angie Dickinson, who played undercover LAPD officer Sgt. "Pepper" Anderson.

"She'd get into trouble and I’d run in and save her," Holliman was quoted as saying of his "Police Woman" co-star during a 2003 interview.

"I would make some smart remark and she would come back at me in some sexy kind of way, and a lot of that was ad-libbed. We had a tacit kind of permission to do that," he went on to add.

Holliman remembered as "a committed performer"

In 1993 Holliman received an Emmy Award nomination for playing bar owner Darden Towe on ABC's "Delta," starring Delta Burke.

Tributes to Holliman quickly appeared online, including from actor and filmmaker Jon Lindstrom, who said that he would  "be hard pressed to name a nicer guy than Earl Holliman."

I'd be hard pressed to name a nicer guy than Earl Holliman. Always such a committed performer & seemed very proud and happy to be an actor. And the selfless work he did to better the lives of animals is inspiring. My condolences to his loved ones. R.I.P. #PoliceWoman… pic.twitter.com/0d3PTRGKih

— Jon Lindstrom (@thejonlindstrom) November 26, 2024

Lindstrom went on to praise Holliman for being "a committed performer" who "seemed very proud and happy to be an actor."