FILM AND TELEVISION ACTOR RICHARD JAECKEL, 70.

Byline: Tracy Valeri Daily News Staff Writer

Richard Jaeckel, a ``Baywatch'' regular and supporting actor Oscar nominee in ``Sometimes a Great Notion,'' has died after an undisclosed illness. He was 70.

Jaeckel died Saturday as a result of an extensive illness, said Carole Pfannkuche, spokeswoman for the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills.

Jaeckel was widely known for portraying the sergeant in the 1967 movie, ``The Dirty Dozen,'' with Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson. He revived the character years later for the made-for-television sequel, ``The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission.''

Born in Long Beach, N.Y., on Oct. 10, 1926, the veteran actor began as a mail-room employee at 20th Century Fox studios when he received his first part as a Marine in ``Guadalcanal Diary'' in 1943.

After serving in the Navy from 1944 to 1948, Jaeckel portrayed another military character in the 1949 film ``The Sands of Iwo Jima,'' starring John Wayne.

In 1971, ``Sometimes a Great Notion'' gave Jaeckel his bid for an Oscar when he starred with Paul Newman.

In 1991 and 1992, Jaeckel portrayed Lt. Ben Edwards on the syndicated television series ``Baywatch.'' He also starred as Lt. Martin Quirk from 1985 to 1987 on the ABC-TV detective series ``Spenser: For Hire'' with Robert Urich.

Pfannkuche said funeral arrangements were private.

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PHOTO JAECKEL