Stanley Kamel

Stanley Kamel was a prolific character actor with over eighty television appearances to his credit during his forty-year career, including his role as Kosinski in the first season episode . Hailing from New Brunswick, New Jersey, Kamel died of a heart attack in his Hollywood Hills home on 8 April 2008. He was 65 years old. 
== Notable roles ==
Kamel was perhaps best known for his recurring role on , playing Dr. Charles Kroger, the psychiatrist of the titular obsessive-compulsive detective. Although he did not frequently interact with other actors on-screen besides series star , those who appeared in the same episodes as Kamel include Jason Alexander, Billy Burke, Jane Carr, Gordon Clapp, Alicia Coppola, Timothy Davis-Reed, Juliana Donald, Nicole Forester, Reynaldo Gallegos, Grant Garrison, Willie Garson, Molly Hagan, Rif Hutton, Michelle Krusiec, Rob LaBelle, D.J. Lockhart-Johnson, Mary Mara, Marc Marosi, Charles Napier, Sandra Nelson, Gina Philips, Harve Presnell, Anne Elizabeth Ramsay, Jeremy Roberts, Sarah Silverman, Michael Buchman Silver, Todd Stashwick, Tom Virtue, Todd Waring, Peter Weller, Michael Shamus Wiles, and Matt Winston. Jerry Hardin's daughter, actress , also had a recurring role on the series as the title character's deceased wife.
Kamel is also remembered for his role as another psychiatrist, Dr. Graham Lester, on Murder One. Among those he worked with on the latter series were fellow Star Trek alumni Daniel Benzali, Barbara Bosson, Juliana Donald, John Fleck, Miriam Flynn, Robin Gammell, Anne Haney, Gregory Itzin, Jack Kehler, Thomas Knickerbocker, Thomas Kopache, Deborah May, Donna Murphy, Natalia Nogulich, Richard McGonagle, Conor O'Farrell, Randy Oglesby, Tony Plana, Marty Rackham, F.J. Rio, Clayton Rohner, Kevin Tighe, Vanessa Williams, and Bruce Wright.
Although both characters were psychiatrists, Kroger and Lester were very different from each other. Kroger was a model citizen who aided Monk's police colleagues whereas Lester was arrested, tried and convicted of evidence tampering, obstruction of justice and perjury.
== Early television career ==
Beginning his acting career on the off-Broadway stage, Kamel first appeared on TV in a 1969 episode of Mission: Impossible, along with series regular Leonard Nimoy and fellow guest stars Robert Ellenstein and Alfred Ryder. This was followed by his first credited TV appearance in a 1971 episode of , opposite series regulars Clarence Williams III and Tige Andrews and guest star Nehemiah Persoff; he returned to the show the following year, in an episode with Sharon Acker. 
His breakthrough role came on , on which he played Eric Peters from 1972 through 1976. His early years also included guest appearances on numerous TV shows, including Kojak, (with series regulars Robert Ito and Garry Walberg), Barney Miller (with Ron Glass and James Gregory), and (in a 1979 episode with Mark Lenard).
During the 1980s and early '90s, Kamel was seen on , Three's Company, , The Highwayman (starring Tim Russ), (two episodes, including one with Charles Rocket in 1990), (with Ron Perlman and Stephen McHattie), and (including a two-parter with Richard Riehle), among many other shows. He also had recurring roles on (working with the likes of Bibi Besch, Robert DoQui, Charles Lucia, Stephen Macht, Janet MacLachlan, Vincent Schiavelli, and Don Stark), (working alongside series regulars Corbin Bernsen and Larry Drake as well as fellow guest stars Paul Comi, Robert Costanzo, Diana Muldaur, and Warren Munson), and (including a two-parter with Felecia M. Bell and Barry Jenner). He additionally appeared in three episodes of , working alongside the likes of Barbara Babcock, Barbara Bosson, James B. Sikking, Cecile Callan, Hamilton Camp, and Carlos LaCamara. He appeared on Scarecrow and Mrs. King with Edward R. Brown.
== Later television career ==
Kamel's later career included recurring roles on and . Other Star Trek performers he worked with on the former series were Michael Bofshever, Mary Crosby, Michael Durrell, Ann Gillespie, Caroline Lagerfelt, Joan Pringle; fellow Trek co-stars on the latter series were Casey Biggs, Christopher Carroll, Lawrence Dobkin, Lindsey Haun, Famke Janssen, Monte Markham, Warren Munson, Tim Russ, Melanie Smith, Gail Strickland, Kenneth Tigar, Gwynyth Walsh, Spice Williams, and Time Winters. Kamel also made guest appearances on such popular shows as , The Nanny (starring Daniel Davis), (starring Stephen Collins and Catherine Hicks, with Maureen Flannigan), (with Barbara J. Tarbuck), (with Gary Cole and Ron Canada), and Reba (starring Scarlett Pomers). In 2003, he co-starred with Jeff Allin, Vaughn Armstrong, Art Chudabala, Nicole Forester, David Gautreaux, Bob Gunton, Blake Lindsley, Randy Oglesby, Eric Pierpoint, George D. Wallace, and Harris Yulin in .
== Film work ==
Kamel appeared in a number of feature films, including Corvette Summer (1978, with Dick Miller and Eugene Roche), (1982, with Anne Haney and Charles Lucia), (1983, with David Clennon and Robert Picardo), Automatic (1994, with Daphne Ashbrook, John Glover, Marjean Holden, Penny Johnson, Jeff Kober, and Laura Interval), (1997, with Robin Sachs), Eat Your Heart Out (1997, with John Billingsley), Under Pressure (2000, with Craig Wasson), and (2005, with cinematography by Dan Mindel). More recently he appeared in (along with Ian Abercrombie and Duncan K. Fraser), as well as a comedy called The Urn with star Armin Shimerman.
At the time of his death, Kamel was attached to a romantic comedy called For Better or for Worse, in which he would have worked with Chad Allen. As of October 2013, this film has yet to be released and its production status (if any) is unknown.
== Other Trek connections ==
Other projects in which Kamel appeared with other Star Trek performers include:
*Short Walk to Daylight (1972 TV movie) with Walker Edmiston
* (1975) with Roger C. Carmel
* (1975) with Henry Darrow, Lawrence Pressman, and John Schuck
*In the Glitter Place (1977 TV movie) starring Lee Delano, Salome Jens, and Anthony Zerbe; directed by Robert Butler; photographed by Jerry Finnerman
*Platinum (1978 Broadway play) with Richard Cox
*240-Robert episode "Acting Sergeant" (1979) with Joanna Cassidy
*Lou Grant episode "Kidnap" (1979) with Jonathan Banks
*Captain America II: Death Too Soon (1979) with William Lucking
* (1980) with Bill Erwin and Warren Munson
* (1980) with Alan Oppenheimer
*The Gossip Columnist (1980 TV movie) with Kim Cattrall
* (1981) with Ray Buktenica and Mark L. Taylor
* (1981) with Phillip Richard Allen
* (1984) with Kurtwood Smith
*My Mother's Secret Life (1984 TV movie) co-starring Paul Sorvino and Dan Shor
*Victims for Victims: The Theresa Saldana Story (1984 TV movie) with Lawrence Pressman and Barbara J. Tarbuck
*A Bunny's Tale (1985 TV movie) starring Kirstie Alley
* (1985) with Erik Holland, Brian Keith, Daniel Hugh Kelly, and William Windom
* (1987) with Michael Durrell and John Schuck
* (1990) with Ed Lauter
* Father Dowling Mysteries (1991) with Debi A. Monahan and Richard Riehle
* 2000 Malibu Road pilot episode (1992) with Robert Foxworth
* (1996) with Tim Kelleher and Connor O'Farrell
* C-16: FBI pilot episode (1997) with Vaughn Armstrong, Melinda Culea, Robin Gammell, Zach Grenier, and Glenn Morshower
* A Fare to Remember (1998 film) with K Callan
* Stonebrook (1999 film) with Zoe McLellan
* Dark Angel pilot episode (2000) with Kristin Bauer, Paul Popowich, and John Savage
* An American Daughter (2000 TV movie) with Jane Carr
* (2001) with Paul Dooley and Anne Haney
* (2003) with Raphael Sbarge
* The D.A. episode "The People vs. Patricia Henry" (2003) starring Steven Weber
* Jane Doe: How to Fire Your Boss (2007 direct-to-DVD movie) with Richard Libertini and Steve Vinovich; directed by James Contner
== External links ==
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