Remembering 2024’s Losses: James B. Sikking

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This is one of the folks on the list of entertainment/well-known individuals not related to music who got bumped from the top ten. This man brought back some good memories, and I was truly sad to see that he passed away in 2024. Here’s today’s entry. James B. Sikking James Sikking had a long and varied career as an actor. The video included is from a Trekkie, which highlights Sikking’s appearance in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. My knowledge of him, and where he made the most impact on me, was his role as the hilarious Lt. Howard Hunter on Hill Street Blues. There were a number of comedic relief characters and moments in that gritty, realistic police drama (one of the most acclaimed shows of the 80s [24 Emmys, 96 nominations]), and Sikking’s funny-not-trying-to-be-funny role was a great treat any time he showed up. Sikking had a long list of acting credits on TV (including M*A*S*H in my favorite episode, “Tuttle,” where he played the finance officer who came to give Captain Tuttle his back pay) and movies (he was in Charro! with Elvis). His featured/starring roles were in Hill Street Blues and Doogie Houser, MD (where he played Doogie’s dad). As for why it’s such a great memory: every Friday morning, when I was stationed in Hawaii, the commanding officer would come into our office (where the coffee mess was), get his coffee, and come over to my desk and discuss the previous night’s episode of Hill Street Blues. It infuriated my supervisor, but what was she gonna say to the CO? Sikking died from complications related to dementia in July. In addition to his acting career, he left a life of philanthropy, being involved in children’s literacy, cystic fibrosis research, and the Susan G. Koman Foundation. James B. Sikking Born James Barrie Sikking, March 5, 1934, Los Angeles, California Died July 13, 2024, Los Angeles, California (dementia) (age 90) Here’s a Star Trek fan doing a tribute to Sikking: