Bill Bixby, whose three-decade television career featured starring roles as a Martian's pal, superdad and superhero, has died of cancer, a spokeswoman said Monday. He was 59.
Bixby died Sunday at his home in Century City, with his wife Judith Klivan-Bixby at his bedside, said Pamela Golin, a spokeswoman for the NBC-TV show "Blossom." Bixby was the show's director.Funeral arrangements were incomplete.
In an emotional TV interview in September, he spoke of his battle with cancer that spread to his bladder, liver and hipbones.
A likable performer, Bixby had varied roles in several successful television series from the '60s onward.
Bixby starred with Ray Walston in the 1963-66 CBS comedy "My Favorite Martian." Bixby played newspaper reporter Tim O'Hara, foil to mischievous extraterrestrial Walston.
Three years later, Bixby moved into the role of a wise, stalwart dad in "The Courtship of Eddie's Father." The ABC comedy, which ran from 1969-72, featured him as the widowed father of young Eddie (Brandon Cruz).
After a stint in the 1973-74 NBC series "The Magician," Bixby starred in the comic book-based series "The Incredible Hulk," which ran from 1978-82 on CBS.
He played David Banner, a research scientist condemned by a freak lab accident to change into a huge, raging monster.
Returning to comedy, Bixby was paired with actress Mariette Hartley in the 1983-84 CBS series "Goodnight, Beantown."