About Michael Ontkean
Michael Ontkean (born January 24, 1946) is a Canadian retired actor. Ontkean relocated to the United States to attend the University of New Hampshire on a hockey scholarship before pursuing a career in acting in the early 1970s. He initially came to prominence portraying Officer Willie Gillis on the crime drama series The Rookies from 1972 to 1974, followed by lead roles in the hockey sports comedy film Slap Shot (1977) and the romantic comedy Willie & Phil (1980). In 1982, he had a starring role opposite Harry Hamlin and Kate Jackson in the drama Making Love, in which he portrayed a married man who comes to terms with his homosexuality. In 1984, he starred opposite Kristy McNichol in Just the Way You Are. Ontkean continued to appear in films, such as Clara's Heart (1988) and Postcards from the Edge (1990) before being cast as Sheriff Harry S. Truman on David Lynch's Twin Peaks (1990–1991). == Early life == Ontkean was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, the son of Muriel (née Cooper), an actress, and Leonard Ontkean, a boxer and actor. He was a child actor in Vancouver. Before turning 12, he had appeared on three or four dozen Canadian TV and radio shows plus fifty-eight (58) episodes as a chorus and background singer on Cross-Canada Hit Parade (a weekly TV show which ran from 1955-59, in which the top ten most popular US and Canadian songs were performed). He appeared in one episode of the television series Hudson's Bay (1959).
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.