After a brief appearance in the 1971 film
Klute, and small roles in television series such as
The Mod Squad,
Emergency!, For the role, he had to borrow a suit. He had twice auditioned and failed, then called his agent, telling him, "'Do what you have to do,' so he called in a favor and I read for them [again]. I was a military policeman in the Army, so I knew how to hold a gun and throw somebody against a wall. I got a call [the next night] asking if I'd sign a contract." Dobson auditioned for a third time and finally won the role. He remained with
Kojak for its entire five-season run from 1973 to 1978, and later reunited with Savalas for the 1990 television movie, ''Kojak: It's Always Something'', his character having become an assistant district attorney. They remained friends until Savalas's death from bladder cancer in 1994. In 1976, Dobson was on
Battle of the Network Stars with Savalas (Captain),
Adrienne Barbeau,
Gary Burghoff,
Pat Harrington,
Bill Macy,
Lee Meriwether,
Mackenzie Phillips,
Loretta Swit, and
Jimmie Walker. In 1978, Dobson played Pete Lomas in the two-part television movie
The Immigrants, based on the novel by
Howard Fast. In 1981, Dobson starred as Det. Jack Shannon, a
San Francisco police officer who is a single father, is on the
CBS series
Shannon. However, the show failed to gain substantial ratings and was cancelled after nine episodes. A more successful television role for Dobson followed in 1982 as M. Patrick "Mack" MacKenzie in the prime-time soap opera
Knots Landing, opposite
Michele Lee. He joined the show at the beginning of its fourth season in September 1982 and remained in the role until its cancellation in 1993. Dobson won five
Soap Opera Digest Awards for his work on the series. He later reunited with his
Knots Landing co-stars for a miniseries,
Knots Landing: Back to the Cul-de-Sac in 1997, and again in the 2005 non-fiction special
Knots Landing Reunion: Together Again.
Stage roles Dobson starred in the
Tony Award winning play ''
'Art''' at the Royal George Theater in
Chicago. He originated the role of Steve Gallop in the world premiere of the
American Theatre Critics Association nominated stage play "If it was Easy..." at The 7Stages Theater in
Atlanta, Georgia, and appeared in many other stage roles across the United States. He starred with
Richard Thomas in the 2009 stage production of
12 Angry Men. Dobson stated, concerning actors who are afraid of being typecast, "You should be so lucky."
Affiliations Dobson, a former Army soldier (MP), served twice as chairman of the National Salute To Hospitalized Veterans. Having long assisted with the needs of hospitalized veterans, Dobson received the AMVETS (American Veterans) Silver Helmet Peace Award and the
American Legion Award. Dobson, was a life member of AMVETS and also a charter member of AMVETS MOH Richard A. Pittman Post #1947 - Stockton, California. ==Personal life==