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Bill Daily of I Dream of Jeannie and The Bob Newhart Show Dead at 91

The '70s icon was also beloved for his work on ALF and The Love Boat

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Bill Daily, the actor who brought us Major Nelson's quirky BFF Major Healey on the TV classic I Dream of Jeannie, has passed away at the age of 91.

Daily was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on August 30, 1927, and launched his television career as a floor manager for NBC affiliate WMAQ in Chicago, before moving on to acting with guest spots on Bewitched, My Mother the Car and The Farmer's Daughter.

Daily's big break came when he was cast as an astronaut -- and once accidental master of the titular Jeannie -- on I Dream of Jeannie alongside Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman. After I Dream of Jeannie ended in 1970, it was only a few years later that Daily found himself playing another zany airman as Howard Borden on The Bob Newhart Show.

Remember the celebrities we lost in 2018

A staple of '70s and '80s guest spots, Dailey appeared on such fare as The Love Boatand Love, American Style before landing another regular spot as psychiatrist Larry Dykstra on ALF. Dailey also appeared in a number of I Dream of Jeannie TV movies.

Dailey is survived by a son, J. Patrick Dailey, who works as a key grip in motion pictures.