Perry Lopez Perry Lopez was a character actor who portrayed Lieutenant Esteban Rodriguez in , a first season episode of . He filmed his scenes for the episode on Wednesday and Friday at . He may best be remembered for his supporting role as Lt . Lou Escobar in the 1974 Academy Award - winning film " Chinatown " . Among his co - stars in this film were fellow TOS guest actor Roy Jenson and TNG guest star Noble Willingham . The film also featured cinematography by John A . Alonzo , music by Jerry Goldsmith and stunts by Hal Needham . Lopez was born in New York City , New York , and began his acting career on the New York stage . He ultimately broke into film with an uncredited role in the classic 1954 science fiction monster movie " Creature from the Black Lagoon " . Fellow TOS guest star Whit Bissell has a supporting role in this film . Later that year , Lopez appeared in the westerns " Jubilee Trail " ( with Richard Webb ) and " Drum Beat " ( with Elisha Cook , Jr . ) . Between 1955 and 1956 , Lopez was seen in such films as " Battle Cry " ( 1955 , with William Campbell ) , " Mister Roberts " ( 1955 , co - starring Tige Andrews ) , " Hell on Frisco Bay " ( 1955 , with Stanley Adams and Anthony Caruso ) , and " The Young Guns " ( with Scott Marlowe ) . He also played the lead in a 1956 drama called " The Steel Jungle " , working with DS9 guest star Kenneth Tobey . Lopez worked with fellow TOS guest actor Michael Ansara in three films : 1956 ' s " The Lone Ranger " ( also featuring William Schallert and Beverly Washburn ) and 1968 ' s " Sol Madrid " ( co - starring Ricardo Montalban ) and " Daring Game " ( with Brock Peters ) . Lopez also appeared in three movies with Arthur Batanides : 1958 ' s " Violent Road " ( starring Brian Keith ) and " Cry Tough " ( with Barbara Luna ) and 1961 ' s " Man - Trap " ( 1961 , starring Jeffrey Hunter ) . Lopez ' s other film credits include " Taras Bulba " ( 1962 ) , " McLintock ! " ( 1963 ) , " The Rare Breed " ( 1966 , starring Brian Keith ) , " Bandolero ! " ( 1968 , with Andrew Prine and Guy Raymond ) , " Che ! " ( 1969 , with Sid Haig , Barbara Luna and Abraham Sofaer ) , and " Kelly ' s Heroes " ( 1970 ) . 1974 ' s " Chinatown " was Lopez ' s last film until the late 1980s , when he appeared in the films " Death Wish 4 : The Crackdown " ( 1987 , with s Tim Russ ) and " Kinjite : Forbidden Subjects " ( 1989 ) . Lopez was prominent in television , as well . He had a recurring role on the 1950 ' s series " Zorro " ( on which he worked with Barbara Luna ) and has also guest - starred on " The Rifleman " ( in an episode with Paul Fix and Lawrence Dobkin ) , " Bonanza " ( with Rex Holman ) , " Wagon Train " ( four episodes , including two with Morgan Woodward ) , " The Virginian " ( with John Hoyt ) , " Mission : Impossible " ( with Mark Lenard and Percy Rodriguez ) , " The Time Tunnel " ( starring James Darren , Whit Bissell and Lee Meriwether ) , " The Wild Wild West " ( with Oliver McGowan , George Murdock , William O ' Connell and Robert Pine ) , " The Mod Squad " ( with Tige Andrews , Meg Foster , Brock Peters and Clarence Williams III ) , " Charlie ' s Angels " ( with John Colicos ) , and " Hart to Hart " ( 1984 , with Julie Newmar and John Staible ) . Fifteen years after " Chinatown " , Lopez reprised the role of Escobar ( now a captain ) in the sequel , " The Two Jakes " . This film co - starred Tracey Walter . After appearing in the 1994 crime drama " Confessions of a Hitman " , Lopez retired from acting . He died of lung cancer in Beverly Hills , California in 2008 .