Stacy Keach Sr.

BURBANK, Calif. (AP) -Stacy Keach Sr., father of actors Stacy and James Keach and an accomplished character actor in his own right, died Thursday of complications of congestive heart failure. He was 88.

He had been in declining health for more than a year, said publicist Dick Guttman.

Keach appeared in hundreds of movies, commercials, and television and radio shows in a career that spanned more than 50 years.

He had a recurring role as Professor Carlson in television's 1960s spy spoof "Get Smart" and, more recently, as Judge Webster in "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," which starred his daughter-in-law Jane Seymour, wife of James Keach.

He also developed, produced and directed "Tales of the Texas Rangers," which began as a radio series in the 1950s, moving to television in 1958.

Guttman said the radio version is still heard on hundreds of stations.

Keach's movie credits included 1990's "Pretty Woman," in which he played a senator in the Richard Gere-Julia Roberts hit, and 1994's "Cobb," in which he portrayed baseball great Jimmie Foxx.

He appeared in such television shows as "St. Elsewhere," "Dynasty, "Baretta," "The Incredible Hulk," "Adam 12," "Barnarby Jones," "Kojack," "Mannix," "Marcus Welby, M.D.," "Bonanza," "Wagon Train," "Maverick," "77 Sunset Strip" and several episodes of "The Lone Ranger."

He also appeared in scores of commercials, including more than three dozen in the year 1980 alone, Guttman said.

Born in Milwaukee, Wis., Keach attended Northwestern University where he later became a drama instructor. He also taught at Armstrong College in Georgia, where he founded the Savannah Playhouse.

Keach moved to Los Angeles to direct the Pasadena Playhouse and stayed on, becoming a contract player at Universal Pictures and later working as a producer for the RKO film studio.