Hal England, 71; Actor Guest Starred in Many TV Shows

Hal England, 71, veteran actor of stage, film and dozens of television shows from “Bewitched” to “Quantum Leap,” died Thursday of heart failure at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank.

Born in King’s Mountain, N.C., and educated at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, England began his acting career on stage. On Broadway, he understudied Robert Morse in “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” and starred in “Love Me Little” and “Say Darling.”

England was active in the Actors Studio and Theatre West, where he earned a Times reviewer’s praise for his appearance in, among other plays, the 1985 “Blind Faith.” He was also an original member of Joseph Papp’s first season of Shakespeare in the Park in New York, appearing in “Romeo and Juliet,” “Two Gentlemen of Verona” and “Macbeth.”

In addition to small roles in such films as “Hang ‘em High” and “The Bonfire of the Vanities,” England was a major TV guest star for four decades. Among shows he appeared in were “Dr. Kildare,” “My Favorite Martian” and “Here’s Lucy” in the 1960s; “Sanford and Son,” “Barnaby Jones,” “Eight Is Enough” and “Lou Grant” in the 1970s; the series “Beauty and the Beast” and “Murder She Wrote” in the 1980s; and “Any Day Now” in 1998.