Richard "Ratch" Wallace (November 7, 1944 - October 16, 2011) was a Canadian film and television actor, most noted for his recurring supporting role as Kenny Volker in the 1980s television series '' Seeing Things''. Born and raised in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Wallace was known as Ritch in his youth before opting to change his nickname to Ratch after jazz musician Jonah Jones misspelled his name that way when giving him an

autograph An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Intern ...

. He began his career as a stage actor with Toronto's Crest Theatre, having his first film role when he was cast in

David Secter David Secter is a Canadian film director. He is best known for the 1965 film ''Winter Kept Us Warm'', the first English Canadian film ever screened at the Cannes Film Festival.Geoff Pevere"David Secter, the Varsity visionary: How a low-budget stu ...

's 1966 film '' The Offering''. He subsequently acted in films including ''

Isabel Isabel is a female name of Iberian origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of ''Elizabeth (given name), Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheba''). Arising in the 12th c ...

'', ''

The Act of the Heart ''The Act of the Heart'' is a 1970 Canadian drama film written, directed and produced by Paul Almond, and starring Geneviève Bujold, Donald Sutherland, Monique Leyrac and Sharon Acker. Plot Martha Hayes (Geneviève Bujold) is a devoutly reli ...

'', '' Journey'', ''

The Merry Wives of Tobias Rouke ''The Merry Wives of Tobias Rouke'' is a Canadian comedy film, directed by John Board and released in 1972.Gerald Pratley, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 143. A historical comedy set in the 1850s, the film stars Henry B ...

'' and ''

Sunday in the Country Sunday (Latin: ''dies solis'' meaning "day of the sun") is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. Sunday is a day of rest in most Western countries and a part of the weekend. In some Middle Eastern countries, Sunday is a weekday. F ...

'', and had a guest role in an episode of ''

Adventures in Rainbow Country ''Adventures in Rainbow Country'' is a Canadian television series that aired on CBC Television in the 1970–71 television season. Reruns were later shown on the American children's cable channel Nickelodeon during the early 1980s. A half hour f ...

'', before trying his hand at filmmaking as executive producer of '' The Hard Part Begins'', and screenwriter of '' Age of Innocence'' (also known as ''Ragtime Summer'').Frank Daley, "Ragtime Summer opens". ''

Ottawa Journal The ''Ottawa Journal'' was a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, from 1885 to 1980. It was founded in 1885 by A. Woodburn as the ''Ottawa Evening Journal''. Its first editor was John Wesley Dafoe who came from the ...

'', April 23, 1977. He received a

Canadian Film Award The Canadian Film Awards were the leading Canadian cinema awards from 1949 until 1978. These honours were conducted annually, except in 1974 when a number of Quebec directors withdrew their participation and prompted a cancellation. In the 1970s ...

nomination for Best Screenplay at the

28th Canadian Film Awards The 28th Canadian Film Awards were held on November 20, 1977 to honour achievements in Canadian film."Ceremony dominated by two feature films: NFB Triumphs at Film Awards". ''The Globe and Mail'', November 21, 1977. The ceremony was hosted by acto ...

in 1977 for ''Age of Innocence''.Frank Daley
"Omens good for film awards show"
''

'', November 19, 1977. He was subsequently also a writer for the television miniseries '' Jack London's Tales of the Klondike''.

References

External links

* 1944 births 2011 deaths 20th-century Canadian male actors 20th-century Canadian male writers 20th-century Canadian screenwriters Canadian male film actors Canadian male stage actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male screenwriters Canadian television writers Film producers from Toronto Male actors from Toronto Screenwriters from Toronto {{Canada-screen-actor-1940s-stub