Bill Stalker, a towering figure in television, stood at an impressive height of over six feet, donning a rumpled suit and sporting a distinctive bushy mustache, making his casting as a television cop a virtually inevitable occurrence.
Initially, Stalker gained success in his native New Zealand, which ultimately led to his casting in Crawford Productions' airline drama, 'Skyways', where he played the role of Peter Fanelli, the head of airport security. His performance made an instant impact, and he quickly became one of the serial's most popular actors.
Following the cancellation of 'Skyways', the Fanelli character was transferred to the police serial 'Cop Shop', also produced by Crawford Productions, with Fanelli now heading Riverside CIB as a Detective Sergeant. Stalker remained with the program for a period of nine months before resigning to pursue movie opportunities.
However, in a tragic turn of events, Stalker's life was cut short in a motorcycle accident on November 29th, 1981, during a weekend break between taping his final scenes.
