Overview
Donald Poe Galloway (July 27, 1937 – January 8, 2009, Height: 6 feet 2 inches) was an American stage, film, and television actor, best known for his role as Detective Sergeant Ed Brown in the long-running series Ironside (1967–1975). He reprised the role for a TV film in 1993. He was also a politically active Libertarian and columnist.
Galloway was born in Augusta, Kentucky. His parents moved to the county in Bracken County after the Great Flood of 1937 along the Ohio River the same year he was born. Galloway was a 1955 graduate of Bracken County High School, where he played varsity basketball, and a 1959 graduate of the University of Kentucky, where he studied drama.
After graduating from college, Galloway moved to New York City to pursue a career in acting. He studied with renowned acting coach Herbert Berghof and appeared in several off-Broadway productions. In 1963, he made his Broadway debut in the play Bring Me a Warm Body.
Galloway's big break came in 1967 when he was cast as Detective Sergeant Ed Brown in the NBC crime drama series Ironside. The show starred Raymond Burr as Robert Ironside, a wheelchair-bound police chief who solves crimes with the help of his team of detectives, including Brown. Ironside was a critical and commercial success, and Galloway remained with the show for its entire run.
After Ironside ended, Galloway continued to act in television and film. He made guest appearances on popular shows such as Mork & Mindy, The A-Team, and Murder, She Wrote. He also appeared in the films The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and Death Wish II (1982).
In addition to his acting career, Galloway was also a politically active Libertarian and columnist. He wrote a weekly column for the Manchester Union Leader newspaper in New Hampshire, in which he espoused his libertarian views.
Galloway died in 2009 at the age of 71 from complications of a stroke. He is survived by his wife, Linda, and four children.
