Scott Hylands Dead: ‘Night Heat’ & ‘Fargo’ Actor Was 83
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- Scott Hylands died Wednesday, July 29, at age 83, announced by his son Luke Hylands, a cinematographer, who called him his "forever hero and best friend" in an Instagram memorial post.
- Hylands was best known for starring as Detective Kevin "OB" O'Brien in the CTV/CBS police crime drama 'Night Heat,' which ran from 1985 to 1989, and later played Father Travis on ABC's 'V' from 2009 to 2011.
- Born Feb. 27, 1943 in Lethbridge, Alberta, Hylands studied zoology at the University of British Columbia before switching to theater arts, making his off-Broadway debut in 1965 as the lead in 'Billy Liar.'
- Hylands built a prolific U.S. television resume with appearances on 'Kung Fu,' 'Wonder Woman,' 'The Waltons,' 'NYPD Blue,' 'The X-Files,' 'Stargate SG-1,' 'Supernatural,' and 'Fargo,' alongside films including 'Earthquake' (1974) and 'The Boys in Company C' (1978).
- Hollywood Reporter was first to break the news of Hylands' death; he is survived by wife Veronica, son Luke, and daughter Rebecca.
Why it matters: Hylands' four-season run as the lead detective on 'Night Heat' made him a fixture of Canadian prime-time television in the late 1980s, and his genre-TV guest spots across four decades — from 'Wonder Woman' to 'Supernatural' to 'Fargo' — illustrate the unusually long working life of a working actor whose credits spanned from 1969 to at least 2019.
