Charles Siebert, ‘Trapper John, M.D.’ actor, dead at 84

Charles Siebert, who played Dr. Stanley Riverside II on “Trapper John, M.D.,” has died. He was 84.

His daughter, Gillian Bozanic, told The Hollywood Reporter that Siebert died on May 1 at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center from COVID-related pneumonia.

The accomplished stage-trained actor appeared in all 151 episodes of the “M*A*S*H” spinoff, which aired from 1979 to 1986.

He also acted in the 1970s movies “The Other Side of Midnight,” “Blue Sunshine,” “Coma” and “And Justice for All.”

In the 1980s, he appeared in “All Night Long,” “White Water Summer” and “Eight Men Out.”

Siebert studied acting at Marquette University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He then became a charter member of San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater in 1965.

“Charlie was never one to over-compliment, or gush, or flatter,” Craig A. Miller, former artistic director of the 6th Street Playhouse in Santa Rosa, wrote in a tribute to the actor. “He was serious about his craft; he worked hard, and he expected everyone around him to do the same. He lifted us all to a new level of theatricality and magic. As an actor, he didn’t want the praise — he wanted the damn notes.”

He also made six Broadway appearances beginning in the late 1960s, first appearing in “Galileo” in 1967, followed by “Jimmy Shine” in 1968. He later nabbed a starring role in the 1970 play “The Gingerbread Lady.”

After scoring parts in daytime soap operas including “Search for Tomorrow,” “As the World Turns” and “Another World,” he moved to Los Angeles and shortly thereafter was cast in the NBC pilot for “Good Morning, Miss Bliss,” which aired in 1987.

That show would eventually turn into “Saved By the Bell” after being picked up by the Disney Channel, but the network dropped Siebert’s role.

During his career, he appeared in guest or recurring roles on numerous shows, including “All in the Family” — and its spinoff “Maude” — as well as “One Day at a Time,” “Kojak,” “Police Woman,” “The Rockford Files,” “The Incredible Hulk” and “Murder, She Wrote.”