LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Actor Robert Conrad -- who starred in the 1960s TV series “Wild Wild West” and a handful of other series over several decades, has died at his home in Malibu at age 84, family members told reporters.
“He lived a wonderfully long life and while the family is saddened by his passing, he will live forever in their hearts,” family spokesman Jeff Ballard told People magazine on Saturday.
The cause of death was heart failure, according to multiple media reports.
Conrad rode his athletic build and square-jawed good looks to a number of leading roles on television, including “Wild Wild West, “ which ran on CBS from 1965-69 and an early breakthrough role on ABC's “Hawaiian Eye” from 1959 to 1963.
Another big hit was “Baa Baa Black Sheep,” which ran on NBC from 1976-78.
In the late 1970s, the Chicago native gained arguably as much fame by starring in a series of widely-but-gently mocked television commercials for Eveready Batteries, in which he dared viewers to knock a battery off his shoulder.
The twice-divorced Conrad is survived by eight children and 18 grandchildren.
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