Stuart Margolin, an Emmy-winning actor from The Rockford Files, died at 82

On Wednesday, his stepdaughter Michelle Martini told that the actor died on Monday, a decade after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

"It just got to the point where it was too difficult to combat (the disease)," she explained.

Martini noted Margolin's influence on her family. In 1982, the actor married her mother, Patricia Margolin, and became the stepfather of her and her brothers, Max and Christopher.

"He was one of the most giving guys I've ever known," Martini remarked. "He truly took my brothers and myself, and he built a family for us, and he changed our lives in so many ways." And he was a fantastic husband to my mother."

Patricia told about her "lifelong affair" with Margolin, which began when they were teenagers and met in juvenile court. Margolin went on trial for fleeing his home and attempting to live on his own at the age of 14. Patricia, who was also an adolescent at the time, was assigned to judge the case as part of a criminal justice reform effort that aimed to have juveniles with minor charges evaluated by their peers.

"I was a juvenile judge, and I judged him guilty and referred him to the Dallas Police Department," Patricia, who also worked in law enforcement, explained. "That's how we got together."

Patricia and Margolin met again at a dance not long after their court hearing, "and that's how the romance started," she claimed. Despite marrying other people, they divorced around the same time and resumed their romance.

They recently celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary.

"He was the love of my life my entire existence," Patricia explained.

Margolin's career spanned over six decades, beginning in 1961 with "The Gertrude Berg Show" and ending in 2022 as a voice actor in the short film "Home," according to IMDb.

One of his most prominent acting roles occurred in 1974, when he appeared in "The Rockford Files" on NBC. Margolin co-starred in the crime drama with James Garner as Evelyn "Angel" Martin, a troubled acquaintance of Garner's Jim Rockford.

Margolin's performance as Evelyn earned him Emmy nominations for outstanding supporting actor in 1979 and 1980. In 1987, he was nominated for an Emmy for outstanding directing in a variety or music programme for "The Tracey Ullman Show."

The "Rockford Files" series ended in 1980, but the plot was continued in a number of TV movies that aired in the 1990s.

Margolin was a writer, producer, and director in addition to his acting career. He directed various television episodes, including "Touched by an Angel," "Magnum, P.I.," and "Quantum Leap."