Trivia

His mom Sue, dad Andy, brother Tom, and brother Bob were ordained ministers in the Unity Church. Mom Sue led Unity by the Sea in Santa Monica for decades, and brother Bob served as president of the Assn. of Unity Churches for years.

Spent 7 years in the series Hill Street Blues.

Served in the army.

Acting since he was 14.

Father of Andrew Sikking. Also has a daughter, Emily.

Father was a clergyman.

Through the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Book Pals Program, he read to public school third-grade classes for 19 years and was affectionately known as "Jim the Reader.".

On the 1997 drama series Brooklyn South he portrayed Captain Stan Jonas, for which he won a People's Choice Award in 1998.

Sikking appeared as Sergeant (later promoted to Lieutenant) Howard Hunter on the TV series Hill Street Blues from 1981 to 1987. In 1984, Sikking's performance earned him his first Emmy nomination.

While in college during the Korean War, Sikking served in the U.S. Army. He stated he based his approach to his Hill Street Blues character on one of his drill sergeants from basic training at Fort Bragg.

Sikking's film career started in 1955.

On the big screen, Sikking starred alongside Frank Sinatra in Von Ryan's Express (1965) and Elvis Presley in Charro! (1969).

He studied theater at UCLA, where he met wife Florine Caplan, while also serving in the military.

He was devoted to raising funds for cystic fibrosis and the Susan G. Koman Foundation.

James B. Sikking was an American actor, best known for his role as Lt. Howard Hunter on the 1980s television series Hill Street Blues.

He was sometimes credited as "James Sikking" or "Jim Sikking" in some of his earlier roles on film and television.

Sikking also appeared onstage in such plays as Exit Strategy, The Big Knife, Put Them All Together, Nobody Loves an Albatross and a tour of Neil Simon's Plaza Suite.

His mother, Sue, founded the Unity by the Sea Church in Santa Monica in gratitude after she recovered from a nearly fatal automobile accident. His father, Art, followed his wife into the ministry.

He got hired for his one-day gig on The Search for Spock through an offer from producer Harve Bennett, his onetime UCLA classmate.

Died a few weeks after his Ordinary People co-star Donald Sutherland.

Upon Sikking's death, his body was cremated, with his ashes given to his surviving relatives.

Sikking was named after author James Barrie. "It seemed a perfect choice," said Snyder. "There is a bit of Peter Pan in James... his sense of imagination appeared whether playing roles on stage or screen.".