Mitchell Ryan (January 11, 1934 – March 4, 2022) was an American actor. His six decades of television credits, he is best known for playing Burke Devlin in the 1960s gothic

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

Dark Shadows ''Dark Shadows'' is an American Gothic fiction, Gothic soap opera that aired weekdays on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971. The show depicted the lives, loves, trials, and tribulatio ...

'', and later for his co-starring role as Greg Montgomery ( Thomas Gibson)'s father Edward Montgomery on '' Dharma & Greg''. He also played the villainous General Peter McAllister in the 1987

buddy cop Buddy cop is a film and television genre with plots involving two people of very different and conflicting personalities who are forced to work together to solve a crime and/or defeat criminals, sometimes learning from each other in the process. ...

action film ''

Lethal Weapon ''Lethal Weapon'' is a 1987 American action film directed by Richard Donner and written by Shane Black. It stars Mel Gibson and Danny Glover alongside Gary Busey, Tom Atkins, Darlene Love, and Mitchell Ryan. In ''Lethal Weapon'', a pai ...

.''

Early life

Mitchell Ryan was born on January 11, 1934, in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, and raised in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

. His father was a salesman and his mother was a writer. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

Career

A life member of the

Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights located on West 44th Street in Hell's Kitchen in New York City. The studio is best known for its work refining and teaching method actin ...

, Ryan's Broadway theatre credits include '' Wait Until Dark'', ''

Medea In Greek mythology, Medea (; ; ) is the daughter of Aeëtes, King Aeëtes of Colchis. Medea is known in most stories as a sorceress, an accomplished "wiktionary:φαρμακεία, pharmakeía" (medicinal magic), and is often depicted as a high- ...

'', and '' The Price''. His off-Broadway credits include ''

Antony and Cleopatra ''Antony and Cleopatra'' is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed around 1607, by the King's Men at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre. Its first appearance in print was in the First Folio published ...

'' (1963) and ''The Price'' (1979). Ryan was an original cast member of the

cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

'', playing Burke Devlin until he was dismissed from the show in June 1967 due to his alcoholism, and replaced by Anthony George. In 1970, Ryan was in one episode of '' The High Chaparral'' as a character named Jelks, who was on the run from the law. He appeared in an episode of ''

Cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

'', "Fool's Gold" in 1971, and in ABC's '' The Streets of San Francisco'' episode "The Unicorn". He portrayed the title character, Chase Reddick, on the crime drama '' Chase'' (1973–74). Mitchell Ryan Chase 1973

In 1975, Ryan played in '' Barnaby Jones'', in the episode titled "Counterfall". He portrayed the leading character, Dan Walling, on '' Executive Suite'' (1976–77) and played Blake Simmons in the drama '' Julie Farr, M.D.'' (1978–79) which paired him with lead actress Susan Sullivan, whom he reunited with to star together again in '' Dharma & Greg''. Ryan portrayed Cooper Hawkins on the Western series '' The Chisholms'' (1980), Sam Garrett on '' King's Crossing'' (1982) Brennan Flannery on ''High Performance'' (1983), Edward Wyler on ''

Hot Pursuit Hot pursuit (also known as fresh or immediate pursuit) is the urgent and direct pursuit of a criminal suspect by peace officer, law enforcement officers, or by belligerents under international rules of engagement for military forces. Such a situa ...

'' (1984), and Porter Tremont on '' 2000 Malibu Road'' (1992). Ryan's other acting credits include the films '' Liar Liar''; '' Magnum Force'', playing as "Dirty Harry" Callahan (

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

)'s ill-fated despondent best friend and fellow police officer, a motorcycle patrolman named Charlie McCoy; ''

'', playing the key villain General Peter McAllister; '' Grosse Pointe Blank''; '' Electra Glide in Blue''; and '' Hot Shots! Part Deux'', playing Senator Grey Edwards. In 1985, he portrayed Tillet Main, the patriarch of the Main family in the first '' North and South'' miniseries. In 1991, he played Ellis Blake in the sixth season ''Matlock'' episode "The Foursome". Ryan appeared in NBC's ''

The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American Action television, action television series that ran on NBC from January 23, 1983, to March 8, 1987, about a fictional team of former United States Army Special Forces who work as mercenaries while on the run from ...

''; he played Ike Hagan, as Grant Everett in a two-part ''

Silk Stalkings ''Silk Stalkings'' is an American crime drama television series that premiered on CBS on November 7, 1991, as part of the network's late-night '' Crimetime After Primetime'' programming package. Broadcast for two seasons until CBS ended the '' ...

'' episode; and as Kyle Riker, the father of Commander William Riker (

Jonathan Frakes Jonathan Scott Frakes (born August 19, 1952) is an American actor and director. He is best known for his portrayal of William Riker in the television series ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and subsequent films and series. He has also hosted th ...

), in the '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' second season episode " The Icarus Factor"; Ryan had been considered for the part of series lead Captain Jean-Luc Picard (

Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor. With a career spanning over seven decades of Patrick Stewart on stage and screen, stage and screen, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Patrick Stewart, variou ...

). He also portrayed the roles of the abusive boyfriend of Blanche Devereaux (

Rue McClanahan Eddi-Rue McClanahan (February 21, 1934 – June 3, 2010) was an American actress. She was best known for her roles on television sitcoms, including Maude (TV series)#Characters, Vivian Cavender Harmon on ''Maude (TV series), Maude'' (1972–78), ...

), Rex Huntington, in ''

The Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. The show's ensemble cast stars Beatrice Arthur, Betty ...

'' season 6 episode "The Bloom is off the Rose", and Jack Hanlan, a police officer in "Emission Accomplished", a 1993 season 1 episode of ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble ca ...

''. The same year, Ryan played Dallas Shields in '' Renegade''. He appeared in the 1983 episode of '' Hart to Hart'' "Highland Fling". In 1994, he appeared again in ''Hart to Hart'' in one of the made-for-TV movies, ''Home Is Where the Hart Is''. In 1995, he appeared in the films ''

Judge Dredd Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra. He first appeared in the second issue of the British weekly anthology Comic book, comic ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD'' (1977). He is the magazi ...

'' and '' Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers'' as Dr. Terence Wynn (played by Robert Phalen in the original ''Halloween'' film). Ryan played the role of Greg Montgomery ( Thomas Gibson)'s father, Edward Montgomery, on the comedy ''Dharma & Greg'' (1997–2002). The following year, Ryan voiced Highfather on ''

Justice League The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...

''. Ryan was the president of

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

Foundation.

Personal life

Ryan married Lynda Morse in 1972, and they had a son.California Marriage Index 1960–1985; Ancestry.com Ryan and Morse divorced in 1982, and Ryan married Barbara Albertine in 1998. They had two children and five grandchildren. Ryan died of heart failure at his home in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, on March 4, 2022, at the age of 88.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Mitchell 1928 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Burials at Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery, Santa Monica Male actors from Cincinnati Male actors from Louisville, Kentucky Male Western (genre) film actors Military personnel from Cincinnati Military personnel from Louisville, Kentucky United States Navy personnel of the Korean War Western (genre) television actors