Editing George Peppard (section)

===Later career===
Peppard's last series was intended to be several television movie features entitled ''[[Man Against the Mob]]'' (1988) and set in the 1940s. In these TV detective films, Peppard played Los Angeles Police Detective Sgt. Frank Doakey. The second film ''[[Man Against the Mob: The Chinatown Murders]]'' was broadcast in December 1989. A third film in this series was planned, but Peppard died before it was filmed.

In his later years, Peppard appeared in several stage productions. In 1988, he portrayed [[Ernest Hemingway]] in the play ''PAPA'', which played a number of cities including Boise, Idaho; Atlanta, Georgia; and San Francisco. Peppard financed it, and played in it. In 1988, he said, "Once I saw this thing, I knew that if I was going to do it, I'd have to stick with it. I've got a couple bucks in the bank, so I'm not working on anything else. I got an adrenaline rush when I first read this play – part joy, part fear." Peppard said he understood Hemingway. "We were both married four times; that's one similarity. Up until ten years ago I used to drink a lot, as he did. And then, he had to deal with living the life of a famous person."<ref>{{cite news |last=Beck |first=Marilyn |date=May 3, 1988 |title=Peppard drops everything for one-man play |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/tampa-bay-times-peppard-drops-everything/171314817/ |access-date=2025-04-29 |newspaper=St. Petersburg Times |page=4D |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

The play was well received. Peppard said of his image, "There's a George Peppard out there that I don't know. He's been written about, and various people have interpreted him various ways. There are people who've made up stories, apocryphal, about me. There are people who didn't like me much."<ref>{{cite news |last=O'Malley |first=Kathy |date=July 31, 1988 |title=On Being Ernest |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-on-being-ernest/171314853/ |access-date=2025-04-29 |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |page=M6 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

He appeared in ''[[Silence Like Glass]]'' (1989) and ''[[Night of the Fox]]'' (1990). In 1989, he said "I'm afraid I'm typecast. It was discouraging when it first happened. I was sad. I had hoped to do lots of different kinds of roles. But fear and insecurity guides casting decisions. Movies and TV have to make money. And people get used to you playing a part and doing certain things. If you don't do it, they get disappointed and it shows up at the box office."<ref name="sees"/>

In 1990, he was seeking financing for ''The Crystal Contract'', a film about an international cocaine cartel that he would produce and in which he would star, but it was never made. "I would like to do another series because it would mean steady work – and because I would like one more hit."<ref name="sees"/>

In 1992, he toured in ''[[The Lion in Winter]]'', in which he played [[Henry II of England|Henry II]] to [[Susan Clark]]'s [[Eleanor of Aquitaine]]. "I haven't been as happy as I am for a long time," he said. "When you find a part you are right for and you love, it's a source of happiness, believe me... If I could have my wish come true, I'd spend the next two years doing nothing but this play."<ref name="king"/>

His last television role was guest-starring in a 1994 episode of ''[[Matlock (1986 TV series)|Matlock]]'' entitled "The P.I". The episode, co-starring [[Tracy Nelson (actress)|Tracy Nelson]], was meant to serve as a [[backdoor pilot]] for a series about a father and his estranged daughter both working as private investigators. The episode aired eight days before Peppard's death.