'Firefly' Star Ron Glass Dies at 71

Ron Glass, whose TV career hit its early pinnacle on the 70s sitcom Barney Miller, died on Friday at the age of 71. Glass was more recenly known for his role of the Shepherd Book on the cult-hit sci-fi series Firefly.

After a series of guest spots on sitcoms in the early 1970s, Glass scored the role of Ron Harris, an acerbic New York police detective, on Barney Miller, the police-precinct comedy starring Hal Linden in the title role. Glass's Harris was smart and often sarcastically witted as he spent his time coping with the sitcom's wackier characters.

After the end of his run on Barney Miller, Glass spent the 80s, 90s  and 2000s working extensively on TV series, never being off camera for an extended period of time until 2014.

In 2002, he landed the role of Shepherd Book in Joss Whedon's short-lived sci-fi series Firefly. Although the series was cancelled after only 14 episodes, it gained a substantial cult following. Glass also starred in Serenity, the feature film based on the Firefly series.

Glass was born in 1945 in Evansville, Indiana. He died on November 25, reportedly from respiratory failure,