Uncle John’s Log & Co.

One of my all-time favorite character actors died yesterday. A staple guest star in the silver age of television, John Vernon brought total credibility to every role I ever saw him play, especially as a villain. Probably best known as the scheming Dean Wormer in “Animal House” or for his parts in Clint Eastwood movies, I’ll remember Vernon more for his multiple contributions to “Mission: Impossible,” and the satisfying finale of “Kung Fu.” More than anything else, though, he’ll enter my personal TV Hall of Fame for his memorable “Colonel Josef Strom” in the M:I episode entitled, “The Exchange.” In a rare departure from the series formula, Cinnamon is captured during a mission and undergoes ruthless interrogation. Barbara Bain and Peter Graves deliver outstanding performances, but it’s the smoldering menace in Vernon’s superb portrayal that made this show the most gripping one I’d watched since the legendary pilot, and that’s saying a lot. I’ll never forget the intensity of the moment when Phelps admits to the other members of the IMF, “They’ll break her, and then they’ll kill her.” With Colonel Strom in charge, I couldn’t help but “believe” they would! I also recall the climactic shock of seeing Vernon’s Strom yank out a submachine gun and cut down our defenseless hero and heroine at the Iron Curtain checkpoint. His masterful wickedness was forever sealed in Mission Legend with the brutal act, prior to our realizing that Cinnamon and Jim were wearing bulletproof trench-coats. Oh, the relief! Cue that immortal Lalo Schifrin score!