Benjamin Norman Schultz (February 8, 1926 – August 22, 2020), known professionally as Allan Rich, was an American

character actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...

Early live and career

Rich was born to a Jewish family in

Astoria, Queens Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to four other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City, Queens, Long Island C ...

, and his family moved to the Bronx when he was 6. Rich began his acting career when he was nine years old. He appeared in the Broadway productions ''I'll Take the High Road'' (1943), ''Career Angel'' (1944), ''Darkness at Noon'' (1951), and ''The Emperor's Clothes'' (1953). In 1948, Rich played the title role in a production of

Ben Jonson Benjamin Jonson ( 11 June 1572 – ) was an English playwright, poet and actor. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence on English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for the satire, satirical ...

's ''

Volpone ''Volpone'' (, Italian for "sly fox") is a comedy play by English playwright Ben Jonson first produced in 1605–1606, drawing on elements of city comedy and beast fable. A merciless satire of greed and lust, it remains Jonson's most-perfo ...

'' in

Yellow Springs, Ohio Yellow Springs is a Village (Ohio), village in northern Greene County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,697 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. It is part of the Greater Dayton, Dayton metropolitan area and is home to Antioch ...

. Beginning in 1979, Rich was distributor and publisher of Hollywood portraits made by George Hurrell.

Personal life and death

Rich was one of the many alleged communist sympathizers blacklisted in the 1950s

Hollywood blacklist The Hollywood blacklist was the mid-20th century banning of suspected Communists from working in the United States entertainment industry. The blacklisting, blacklist began at the onset of the Cold War and Red Scare#Second Red Scare (1947–1957 ...

. He married Elaine in 1951, who would go on to be a personal manager to a number of actors after the couple moved to Los Angeles in 1976. The couple had two children together. Elaine Rich died in 2015, aged 81. Rich spent the last five years of his life as a resident at the Lillian Booth Actors Home, run by the Actors Fund of America. He died from progressive dementia in Englewood, New Jersey, in August 2020, at the age of 94.

Activism

Rich was the co-founder of non-profit organization ''We Care About Kids'', which produces educational short films for middle and high school youths.

Filmography

References

External links

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Personal website

Personal Youtube page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rich, Allan 1926 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors Hollywood blacklist Jewish American male actors Male actors from New York City Deaths from dementia in New Jersey 21st-century American Jews