Jon Cypher, Star of ‘Hill Street Blues’ and ‘Cinderella,’ Dies at 94
Jon Cypher, the veteran stage and screen performer widely recognized for playing Police Chief Fletcher Daniels on Hill Street Blues, has died at 94. His obituary also disclosed the personal instructions he left for his burial.
Cypher died at his Twin Creeks home in Central Point, Oregon, on August 3, according to the obituary. His wife of 40 years, author Carol Rosin, was beside him. A cause of death was not provided.
His acting life was both long and accomplished, spanning television, cinema and Broadway for more than five decades. Cypher was born in New York on January 13, 1932, and completed his studies at Brooklyn College in 1953. Several years later, he began appearing in Denver summer-theater productions.
A defining opportunity arrived in 1957, when CBS cast him as Prince Charming opposite Julie Andrews in the first live television production of Cinderella. The broadcast became an enormous hit, drawing an estimated 107 million viewers—more than 60 percent of households in the United States. It was Cypher’s first significant television part and helped set his lengthy career in motion.
Jon Cypher, known from Hill Street Blues and Cinderella, was 94 when he died. Over the years he performed in 12 Broadway productions. Among them were The Night of the Iguana, Man of La Mancha and The Great White Hope. His reputation was not limited to the Broadway stage; he also became a familiar presence in American television.
He worked on Bonanza and Mannix, then appeared in Dynasty, Murder, She Wrote, The Rockford Files, JAG, Walker, Texas Ranger and Law & Order. He took parts in daytime dramas as well, appearing on As the World Turns, General Hospital, Knots Landing and Santa Barbara. For a large number of viewers, however, his most memorable role remained Fletcher Daniels, the police chief on Hill Street Blues.
Cypher’s film work included Masters of the Universe, Valdez Is Coming, Spontaneous Combustion and Strictly Business. He also performed voice work in Batman Beyond, portraying the villain known as Spellbinder.
Acting was only one of his gifts. The obituary noted his enthusiasm for singing opera in four languages. He had a habit of suddenly bursting into song, delighting those around him and bringing smiles to their faces.
In 2019, Cypher published If You’re Not Depressed, You Oughta Be in Therapy, a book combining 99 limericks with his reflections on living.
He was candid about the challenges of an acting career. In 2014 he described the profession as anything but easy because performers are constantly evaluated by audiences and critics. His advice to young actors entering the struggle was to prepare themselves sturdily and carry a sharp sword, since the work requires getting back up again and again after rejection.
When someone asked what had allowed his career to last so long, Cypher answered with the joke “Poverty.” He added that acting is simply what an actor continues to do for as long as the work remains possible.
Cypher is scheduled for burial on August 11 at Forest Conservation Burial Ground in Ashland, Oregon. Following the wishes recorded in his obituary, he will be laid beneath tall trees in a meadow and wrapped in a natural shroud designed to biodegrade. He wanted his body to return to nature—a quiet farewell after an exceptional lifetime in entertainment.
May Jon Cypher rest in peace. Our sympathy and prayers are with everyone who loved him.
