Ron Richardson

Ronald E. Richardson (January 27, 1952 – April 5, 1995) was an American actor and operatic baritone. Richardson began his career in the mid-1970s appearing in regional theater and opera productions. He appeared in several Broadway musicals from 1978-1993, arguably best known for his Tony Award and Drama Desk Award-winning performance as "Jim" in the 1985 Broadway musical '' Big River''.

Early years

Richardson was born to William F. and Amanda Richardson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father worked in the meat-packing industry and his mother operated a beauty parlor in their home for more than 30 years. He had one sister, Vickilyn Reynolds, and two brothers, the Reverend W. Franklyn Richardson and Raymond Lloyd Richardson. Richardson was highly influenced by the music at his family's church, where he started singing at age 4. In high school he began studying singing seriously and performed in choirs and dinner theater musicals. He also studied music composition. After high school, Richardson entered the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where he studied voice and played roles in classic musicals such as ''Show Boat'', ''Camelot'', and ''Man of La Mancha''.

Career

In 1977, Richardson played "Sportin' Life" in the Houston Grand Opera production of ''Porgy and Bess''. His first role on Broadway was as the "Chief of Police" in the 1978 musical ''Timbuktu!'' Over the next several years, Richardson appeared in several regional theatre and opera productions and was in the 1983 National tour of ''Dreamgirls'', but it wasn't until his award-winning performance as "Jim" in the 1985 Broadway musical '' Big River'' that he became widely known. Richardson's approach to the role of "Jim", a runaway slave, was heroic:

"When I play Jim," he told an interviewer from The New York Times, "I am playing my grandfather, and my mother swears I look like him as a young man. He was born a free man, but his father and mother were slaves. He was very strong, and very majestic."

After ''Big River'' closed in 1987, Richardson toured London, Japan, Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia, in both concerts and staged productions. He also appeared at The American Place Theater in Leslie Lee's ''Ground People'' and starred as "Husky Miller" in the Old Vic revival of ''Carmen Jones''.

Richardson also appeared in two more Broadway productions during the early 1990s; ''Oh, Kay!'' and ''The Boys Choir of Harlem and Friends''.

Death

On April 5, 1995, Richardson died of complications of AIDS in Bronxville, New York at the age of 43. His funeral was held on April 8 in Mount Vernon, New York where he had lived.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, Ron
1952 births
1995 deaths
African-American male actors
20th-century African-American male singers
20th-century American male opera singers
African-American male opera singers
American male musical theatre actors
American male stage actors
Male actors from Philadelphia
Drama Desk Award winners
American operatic baritones
Tony Award winners
AIDS-related deaths in New York (state)
University of the Arts (Philadelphia) alumni
20th-century American male actors