MovieChat Forums > Room 222 (1969) Discussion > Lloyd Haynes (Pete Dixon on the show)

Lloyd Haynes (Pete Dixon on the show)

posted 13 years ago by jeffster67
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I was shocked to read on IMDb.com that he died at age 52, which would have been when I was 19. It said he died of cancer. I know this is a ridiculous question, but I wonder if he was a smoker off-camera? (I say it's probably a ridiculous question, because not everyone who dies of cancer was a smoker. I have an aunt who was born the same year Lloyd Haynes was born and she was a smoker, and lived to be 76. She died almost a year and a half ago, from cancer.)

"I'd be very happy to be myself if I could remember who I am. Who am I?"

[–] Aldanoli 13 years ago

I have vague memories of Haynes smoking in an appearance on another show, although I can't place when or where it was -- he wasn't like, e.g., Mike Connors (of "Mannix" fame) who was almost never photographed *without* a cigarette! (Ironically, despite being a chain-smoker, Connors is still with us in 2011 at age 86.) Unfortunately, in the era when they both grew up, during the forties and fifties, it was seen as a "cool" thing to do, and many people emulated movie idols (and smokers) like Humphrey Bogart -- another chain-smoker -- or younger actors like James Dean.

In an interview on the first season DVD set of "Room 222," Michael Constantine mentions when he learned of Haynes' illness and what a shock it was, because Haynes was a rugged guy, ex-military (in both the Marines and the Navy), and always in great physical condition. According to Constantine, the doctors apparently found a tumor in his body near the back of his lung or the spinal cord, where it was virtually inoperable. So sad to lose such a quiet, dignified man at such a young age -- were he alive, he would only be turning 77 later this month.