John Forsythe, the former Dynasty star and voice of Charlie in the Charlie's Angels TV series and films, has died.
The actor, who was 92, died on Thursday in Santa Ynez, California, from complications of pneumonia after a year-long battle with cancer.
Forsythe played Blake Carrington in the popular US soap from 1981-9, alongside British actress Joan Collins.
In an career that began in the 1940s, he also appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's The Trouble With Harry and Topaz.
It was for his depiction of an oil tycoon in producer Aaron Spelling's Dynasty that Forsythe was best known.
He was one of the last of the true gentlemen of the acting profession
Joan Collins
Your memories of John Forsythe
The role in the soap won him two Golden Globes for best actor and he picked up three Emmy nominations.
Collins said: "He was one of the last of the true gentlemen of the acting profession.
"I enjoyed our nine years of feuding, fussing and fighting as the Carringtons."
Dynasty co-star Heather Locklear added Forsythe was a "gifted actor who knew the true meaning of being gracious and kind".
Forsythe was also well-known for a role in which he never showed his face - Charlie in the TV show Charlie's Angels (1976-81), which was also produced by Aaron Spelling.
He reprised the role in the two feature film follow-ups.
Forsythe's disembodied voice was usually heard over the phone as he gave the "Angels" their next mission.
Angels star Cheryl Ladd said: "I'm mourning with the rest of the world for the talented, gorgeous, funny, intelligent John Forsythe."
In a statement, his family said: "Thankfully, he died as he lived his life... with dignity and grace, after a year-long struggle with cancer."
Born in New Jersey, Forsythe served with the US Army Air Corps during World War II and then worked as an announcer for the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team.
His acting career began in New York in the 1940s where he took on stage roles and was among the first members of Lee Strasburg's influential Actors Studio group.
His other film roles included The Captive City and Escape from Fort Bravo and between 1957 and 1962 he played a Hollywood lawyer caring for a teenage niece in TV comedy Bachelor Father.
A keen environmentalist, Forsythe narrated the World of Survival series in the 1970s and was a spokesperson for the World Wildlife Fund.
