Edward James Olmos and Tricia Helfer pay tribute to Battlestar Galactica co-star Dean Stockwell

Syfy

"A true giant of a human being has passed," Olmos tweeted of Stockwell, who died Sunday at age 85. "I was so fortunate to have worked with him on Miami Vice and Battlestar. I will cherish the years we spent together He was a gift to all who truly knew him. #RIP #SoSayWeAll" Olmos added that Stockwell helped him on his directorial debut and he became a "friend for life." Helfer added: "Such an honor to have gotten to work with Dean Stockwell. An incredible career and a truly unique and lovely man.  RIP Dean.  #SoSayWeAll"

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• Quantum Leap creator Donald P. Bellisario says Dean Stockwell's friends were "puzzled" he agreed to star in a TV show soon after an Oscar nomination: "Dean and I were both in our mid-fifties when I hired him to play the smart-mouthed hologram Al Calavicci on Quantum Leap," Bellisario writes for Deadline. "He had just been nominated for an Oscar for his role in Married to the Mob when our series premiered. His friends in the business were all puzzled by why, at the height of his feature career, he chose to do television. Once we started filming, I once asked him the same question. He said 'Work is work and I have a family to support.' And work he did. Along with Scott Bakula, Dean set the work ethic for the rest of the actors on the show. Television films long hours, much longer than most of the feature films Dean had worked in. Yet he never complained…and if a star like Dean doesn’t complain, who can? Dean brought a sense of fun to the set that lifted everyone’s spirits. He was constantly asked about the features he starred in and always took time to answer with stories like the one he told me: As a child actor he did a film with Errol Flynn. He recalled how they first met. He was walking toward a sound stage hand-in-hand with his mother and his teacher when Errol Flynn approached them. He said Errol ignored his mother, ignored his teacher, and stuck his hand out saying 'Hi kid. Had your first f*ck, yet?' Dean said from that moment on, he knew he was in for a great time. Dean was never that uncouth, but he always gave us a great time. I shall miss him."