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Alfie Wise

Alfie Wise was an American film and television actor whose career was built on character work, comic timing and a knack for fitting comfortably into an ensemble. Born in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on November 17, 1942, he graduated from Altoona Area High School in 1960, later attended Pennsylvania State University and served in the United States Navy. Wise began his screen career in 1972 with the television film Call Her Mom and an appearance in the CBS sitcom The Sandy Duncan Show. From there, he became a familiar presence across television comedy and drama, guest-starring in Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, The Jeffersons and Tour of Duty. He also had a recurring role as Oliver Wardell, a wealthy computer whiz and neighbor, in an ABC detective drama. In 1983, Wise took a leading television role as paramedic Sidney Pacelli in the ABC medical drama Trauma Center. The part placed him in an ensemble that included James Naughton, Jack Bannon, Lou Ferrigno, Wendie Malick, Eileen Heckart and Dorian Harewood. His film career was closely connected with Burt Reynolds. Wise appeared opposite Reynolds in Smokey and the Bandit, Hooper, The Cannonball Run, Paternity, Stroker Ace, Starting Over, City Heat and Hot Stuff. Taken together, those films show the kind of screen career Wise made his own: dependable supporting performances across broad comedy, action and more character-driven material. Wise also worked onstage, playing the inhibited Charlie Baker in a 1985 production of The Foreigner. He retired from acting in 2000 after his final screen appearance in the CBBC television series S Club 7 in Miami. Wise died in 2025, leaving behind a varied body of work shaped less by star billing than by the value of a good character actor in the right role.