A look back at the career of Jack Ging, Gen. Fulbright on The A-Team and recurring character actor

Ging left his mark on classic TV with various recurring authoritative roles in the '60s, '70s and '80s.

With over 110 acting credits to his name, Jack Ging was a familiar face in film and classic television. The actor, who passed away Sept. 9, 2022 at the age of 90 according to The Hollywood Reporter, was best known for his recurring stints on multiple shows in the '60s, '70s and '80s.

Ging's first stretch as a recurring actor came in the late '50s, playing various roles on the one-season Western Mackenzie's Raiders. In 1960, while appearing on other short-lived Westerns such as Wrangler and The Deputy, Ging landed a co-lead film role in Tess of the Storm Country, alongside Diane Baker. 

Ging can be seen as Lou James in The Twilight Zone season two episode "The Whole Truth." After playing a lead role in the 1961 Korean War film Sniper's Ridge, Ging appeared in several smaller roles before landing in 14 episodes of Tales of Wells Fargo as Beau McCloud. 

During that time, he played three different roles in as many episodes on Perry Mason, before becoming a memorable recurring character in both seasons of the '60s show The Eleventh Hour. Ging played passionate psychologist Dr. Paul Graham in 59 of the series' 62 episodes.

Ging continued to rack up Western credits over the next decade with appearances in Gunsmoke, Bonanza and The Virginian. Meanwhile, he played the recurring role of Lt. Dan Ives in Mannix, seen in eight episodes from 1968 to 1974. 

Though classic TV fans can remember Ging from any one of his numerous roles across his near 40-year career, he's arguably best known for his roles on Riptide and The A-Team in the '80s.

In The A-Team, he played Gen. Harlan "Bull" Fulbright during season four, after appearing as SWAT Captain Stark in season one and Lt. Taggart in season two. Fulbright, the well-known antagonist who attempts to capture The A-Team, has a change of heart by season's end.

In a show that was based on firefights, explosions and weapons, The A-Team was known for not showing deaths on screen. It was all the more reason fans were shocked when Ging's character, Gen. Fulbright died at the end of the season. Though a rarity, Ging made light of how his time on The A-Team came to a close in 1986.

"They shot 10,000 machine guns from every roof and threw bombs and grenades, but nobody ever got killed - except me," he said according to The Hollywood Reporter

Ging played Chief Hollings in six episodes on the '90s crime drama show P.S.I. Luv U, adding another law enforcement role to his impressive recurring character actor career, one that spanned nearly four decades.

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20 Comments

JeffPaul76 8 months ago
I remember seeing him in an Episode of M*A*S*H playing a General, I forget his name though.
PATRICK63 24 months ago
JACK GING was my dad's teammate on the Oklahoma Sooners when Bud Wilkerson was the coach in the 50s
PierreKhoury PATRICK63 8 months ago
WOW! Small world!
Jon 25 months ago
I remember seeing him in RIPTIDE, though not on A-TEAM. Here's a link to his TV Guide cover appearance in 1963: https://www.tvguidemagazine.com/archive/suboffer/1960s/1963/19630302_c1.jpg.html
MarkSpeck 25 months ago
Guest-starred on countless crime dramas in the '60s and '70s. He was in about three FBI episodes, a Cannon, Dan August and four Barnaby Jones episodes for Quinn Martin.

He also appeared in a second-season Hawaii Five-O episode, "Run, Johnny, Run", opposite a young actor by the name of Christopher Walken. Wonder whatever happened to him? ;)
mark1972 25 months ago
He was on little house on the prairie as a sheriff looking for a renegade Indian as a huge blizzard is coming in It’s on of my all time favorite episode of little house it’s season one episode 22
TheDavBow3 25 months ago
Wow, impressive athlete. I know him from his great work on Mannix. I guess he's the original "Lt. Dan". R.I.P.
Paul 25 months ago
He guest stared in two episodes of LHOTP. He became Willie Olsens father in law.
MsRockford74 25 months ago
Always liked Jack Ging. Little disappointed in MeTV for not doing an RIP for Bo Hopkins and Henry Silva. They played some good bad guys in the movies and TV.
Moverfan 25 months ago
Can't place Lieutenant Taggart, but Stark and his buddies were an LAPD SWAT team who worked as hired killers on the side. Loved Murdock's little song when he delivered flowers to the guy--"They put you in a little box, they cover you over with dirt and rocks."
BrittReid 25 months ago
Talented man with many credits. He was in High Plains Drifter and Play Misty For Me with Clint. R.I.P
Andybandit 25 months ago
How sad that he passed away. We have lost so many people this year. He was good in the A-Team. As Svengoolie would say he was on Perry Mason. If Jack was on a movie at was on Svengoolie.
gene 25 months ago
he was also side kick to dale robertson on tells of wells fargo
Pacificsun 25 months ago
Well he fictitiously got killed in Season 4 so they could bring in General Stockwell. And depending on what the viewer watches the Show for in the first place. IMO Season 5 had a much better premise which could've taken off in several directions. But by then it was too late, because there are only so many ways a Van can roll over, or double-crossing, a double-crosser. Those earlier seasons were an experiment in randomized and comical chaos for the sake of it, and then laying a plot over all of it! Which is the reverse of how most episodes are built.

But, as a character actor specializing in authority figures, and I saw him in Mannix as a very cool Lt., none better. Believable without any gimmicks, nor a distraction from the story itself. Meaning sometimes Tobias got tedious, while Malcom worked with Mannix instead.

Thank you for profiling him. We can't very well say, gone too soon. But his talent is certainly memorable!!
LynCarceo 25 months ago
Why do I remember him for a Walt Disney movie? I could be wrong.
LoveMETV22 LynCarceo 25 months ago
He was in a couple of 1967 Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color series:
"Willie and the Yank: The Deserter",
"Willie and the Yank: The Mosby Raiders"
Perhaps that is what your remembering?
daDoctah 25 months ago
Used to call him "Jack Jing", just so he'd be as alliterative as his fellow cops on "Mannix", Larry Linville, Robert Reed and Ward Wood.
Pacificsun daDoctah 25 months ago
😎 already cited myself for being off topic!!!

Mannix: (which 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 gets a story written about it_

A very well produced Show with fantastic photography (incredible angles) that was consistently directed by Paul Krasny, with other great Shows under his belt.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Krasny

and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mannix
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