Robert J. Hogan (born September 28, 1933) is an American actor. While not a stranger to the big screen or the stage, Hogan is best known to audiences for his highly prolific career in American television which began in 1961. While he has never been a member of the main cast of a critically successful television series, he has portrayed numerous recurring characters on programs such as Alice, Another World, As the World Turns, Days of Our Lives, Deadline, General Hospital, Law & Order, Murder, She Wrote, One Life to Live, Operation Petticoat, Peyton Place, and The Wire .