Daniel Chalmers

Daniel Chalmers was a white-collar criminal who served as the mentor to the man calling himself Remington Steele, whose biological father he was. On the day he revealed to Remington that he was Remington's father, he died, within an hour of the revelation, without revealing "Remington's" real name to his son. Efrem Zimbalist Jr., series star Stephanie Zimbalist's real-life father, acted out the character; it was among the last work he did in television before his own death.

Father turned mentor
In his final hours, Chalmers described to Laura Holt having fallen for a particularly exquisite woman; he never learned what she saw in him. Their affair led to her becoming the mother-to-be of his child, but instead of pursuing her, he engaged in an illegal caper that landed him in prison. The woman died giving birth to his son, whom he called "Harry" after first meeting him. This son would eventually call himself Remington Steele, the identity he has used ever since.

Upon his first encounter with his son, Chalmers suspected (and rightly so, as "Steeled With A Kiss," in which he died, made evident) that "Harry" had been building too much resentment towards a father he had never known to know that Chalmers was his father. Instead, as he revealed to Remington in his final hours, he decided to be "Harry's" friend, and mentor of a protege who could learn much from him.