OBITUARIES / PASSINGS / Wayne Tippit

Wayne Tippit, 76, a veteran character actor who played Ted Adamson on the CBS soap opera “Search for Tomorrow” in the 1970s and ‘80s and then became Palmer Woodward on Fox’s prime-time potboiler “Melrose Place,” died Aug. 28 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, his family said.

Tippit, who received a lung transplant in 2000, died of complications from emphysema.

Born in Lubbock, Texas, on Dec. 19, 1932, Tippit studied speech and drama at what is now Texas Tech University before transferring to the University of Iowa, where he received a bachelor of fine arts degree in 1953.

While serving in the Army he produced a radio show, and after his discharge he moved to New York City to pursue stage roles. He had small parts in Broadway productions of “Tall Story” and “Only in America” in 1959.

That year Tippit landed the role of Jerry Ames in the CBS soap opera “The Secret Storm.” He played the part for six years while also working as a commercial spokesman for various products.

In the ‘60s and ‘70s Tippit continued to act on stage in New York and in 1978 began a five-year run on daytime TV’s “Search for Tomorrow.” He later moved to Los Angeles and primarily appeared in guest roles on TV, including in “L.A. Law,” “Matlock” and “Diagnosis Murder.”

On “Melrose Place” in the early ‘90s he played the father of Heather Locklear’s character, Amanda Woodward.