Noam Pitlik

Noam Pitlik (born November 4, 1932 - died February 18, 1999) appeared in six Sanford and Son episodes during its first season as LAPD Officer "Swanny" Swanhouser, first appearing in the fourth episode of the first season "The Copper Caper" in 1972. A multifaceted entertainment figure, Noam wore numerous hats as a director, actor, and producer for several episodes of the ABC-TV version of the 1980 hit film Nine to Five, ABC-TV's Barney Miller series, and as co-executive producer of the 1990 comedy film Anna.

Early life and career
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Noam directed episodes of 29 different series, mostly situation comedies such as Barney Miller (102 episodes), the NBC-TV series Wings (27 episodes), NBC's Night Court (1 episode), ABC-TV's Mr. Belvedere (44 episodes), Off the Rack (6 episodes), Taxi (4 episodes) and CBS's One Day at a Time (18 episodes).

As an actor, Noam appeared on 82 different TV series (making multiple appearances in several series) including Sanford and Son in 1972 where he played Officer Swanhauser (aka "Swany") a white cop whose partner was Officer "Smitty" Smith played by Hal Williams. In the second season, he was replaced by Officer "Hoppy" Hopkins played by Howard T. Platt.

Other acting credits include Hogan's Heroes, where he appeared in various roles as American and German characters (including a spy pretending to be a new POW in the seldom-seen series pilot episode). He also appeared in The Bob Newhart Show as Mr. Gianelli, one of Dr. Robert Hartley's patients (a character that was taken over by Daniel J. Travanti.) He also played the role of a milkman named Wilbur in one episode All in the Family, a villain in the show The Flying Nun, an English teacher on Gidget, and had an uncredited role in the film The Graduate as a gas-station attendant. Pitlik also was in the movies Fade In and Fitzwilly.

Personal life and death
Noam was married three times; his first marriage was to Jesse Blostein. The couple married on February 11, 1967, and then divorced on September 29, 1970. Pitlik's next marriage was to Linda Hirsch on June 23, 1974, but they divorced on April 25, 1977. Pitlik then married Susan Whittaker on January 18, 1986. They would remain married until his death from lung cancer on February 18, 1999.

Pop culture references
An episode of the ABC-TV animated series The Smurfs included a gnome named "Mr. Pitlik."