Roger Smith, 84, star of detective series 77 Sunset Strip

Actor Roger Smith, who brought glamour to the TV detective genre as a hip private eye on 77 Sunset Strip, has died aged 84.

Jack Gilardi, who was the agent of Smith’s widow, actress Ann-Margret, said the actor died after battling a terminal illness. Smith, pictured, had battled the nerve disease myasthenia gravis for many years.

The actor launched his career in the 1950s when James Cagney spotted him and recommended him for films. He survived two serious illnesses to have a second career after 77 Sunset Strip as manager of his second wife, entertainer Ann-Margret.

From 1958 to 1963, he co-starred with Efrem Zimbalist Jr on the glossy ABC series. It made stars of both men and a teen heartthrob out of Edd Byrnes, who played a colourful parking lot attendant named Kookie.

Roger LaVerne Smith was born in 1932, in South Gate, near Los Angeles. When he was six, his parents enrolled him in a professional school in Hollywood where he learned singing and dancing. When he was 12 the family moved to Nogales, Ariz, where he excelled in the high school acting club and football team.

Smith served two-and-a-half years in the Navy Reserve, and in Hawaii he sang at social events. Cagney, who was there making a film, suggested that Smith might try for a film career. When Smith’s Navy service ended, he signed a contract with Columbia Pictures.

He and Ann-Margret had no children.