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Richard Allen Dysart (March 30, 1929 – April 5, 2015) was an American actor. He is best known for his role as senior partner Leland McKenzie in the television series ''
L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher for NBC. It ran for eight seasons and List of L.A. Law episodes, 172 episodes from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. The series cente ...
'' (1986–1994), for which he won a 1992
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...
as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series after four consecutive nominations. In film, he held supporting roles in '' The Hospital'' (1971), '' Being There'' (1979), '' The Thing'' (1982), '' Mask'' (1985), '' Pale Rider'' (1985) and ''
Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...
'' (1987).


Early life

Richard Dysart was born to Alice (née Hennigar) and Douglas Dysart, a podiatrist, near
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, Massachusetts, on March 30, 1929. Dysart was raised in Skowhegan, Maine and Augusta, Maine. He attended
Gould Academy Gould Academy is a private, co-ed, college preparatory boarding school, boarding and day school, day school founded in 1836 and located in the small town of Bethel, Maine, United States. History In 1835 citizens of Bethel, Maine, formed an organi ...
in Bethel, Maine. At the encouragement of his mother, Dysart performed in summer stock at the Lakewood Theater near Skowhegan. He also worked at a local radio station. He earned both bachelor's (1956) and master's (1981) in speech communication from
Emerson College Emerson College is a private college in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It also maintains campuses in Los Angeles and Well, Limburg, Netherlands (Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of Public Speaking, o ...
in Boston, although his undergraduate education was interrupted due to his service for four years in the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
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 ...
. At Emerson he performed on stage, and he was a class officer and student government vice-president. He was a brother of the Phi Alpha Tau fraternity. He also studied at
George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...
. He returned for his master's degree later, completing it in 1981.


Career

Dysart's acting career began on the stage. He was a founding member of the American Conservatory Theater in
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, which began in 1965. He performed on Broadway in '' All in Good Time'' (1965) and ''A Place Without Doors'' (1970-1971), and a revival of '' The Little Foxes'' (1967–1968) as Horace Giddens, alongside Anne Bancroft. Dysart played the role of Coach in the original Broadway production of Jason Miller's
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
-winning play ''
That Championship Season ''That Championship Season'' is a 1972 play by Jason Miller. It was the recipient of the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 1973 Tony Award for Best Play. Plot synopsis The setting is 1972 at the Coach's home in Scranton, Pennsylvania. ...
'', alongside Charles Durning and Paul Sorvino, from 1972 to 1974. In 1979, Dysart portrayed a good-hearted physician treating a dying billionaire in the film '' Being There'', starring Peter Sellers and Melvyn Douglas. In 1980, he played
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
's
Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
Edwin Stanton in the television film '' The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd''. He voiced the kindly miner Uncle Pom in the Disney English-language version of
Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, filmmaker, and manga artist. He co-founded Studio Ghibli and serves as honorary chairman. Throughout his career, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Anime, Japanese ani ...
's 1986 adventure classic '' Castle in the Sky'', and the character of Cogliostro on '' Todd McFarlane's Spawn: The Animated Series'', which aired on HBO. His other movie credits included roles in '' The Hindenburg'' (as Ernst A. Lehmann), '' An Enemy of the People'', ''
Prophecy In religion, mythology, and fiction, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain di ...
'', '' The Thing'' (directed by
John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, composer, and actor. Most commonly associated with horror film, horror, action film, action, and science fiction film, science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s, he is ...
), '' Pale Rider'' (directed by
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 ...
), and '' Day One'' (with ''L.A. Law'' co-star Michael Tucker). He appeared in an episode of the 1976 television series '' Sara''.


Honors and awards

Dysart received a
Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...
in 1972 for his role as Coach in ''
That Championship Season ''That Championship Season'' is a 1972 play by Jason Miller. It was the recipient of the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 1973 Tony Award for Best Play. Plot synopsis The setting is 1972 at the Coach's home in Scranton, Pennsylvania. ...
''. Dysart was nominated four years in a row for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series between 1989 and 1992, for his role as Leland McKenzie on ''
L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher for NBC. It ran for eight seasons and List of L.A. Law episodes, 172 episodes from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. The series cente ...
'', winning in 1992.


Personal life and death

Dysart was married three times. The first two marriages resulted in divorce. He and his third wife, artist Kathryn Jacobi, were married from 1987 until his death. He had no children of his own, but had a stepson from his third wife and two step-grandchildren. Dysart died at home in
Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
on April 5, 2015, after a long battle with cancer. He was 86 years old.


Selected filmography

*'' Love with the Proper Stranger'' (1963) – Accountant (uncredited) *'' Petulia'' (1968) – Motel Receptionist *'' The Lost Man'' (1969) – Barnes *'' The Sporting Club'' (1971) – Spengler *'' The Hospital'' (1971) – Dr. Welbeck *''
All In The Family ''All in the Family'' is an American sitcoms in the United States, sitcom television series that aired on CBS for nine seasons from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979, with a total of 205 episodes. It was later produced as ''Archie Bunker's Pla ...
'' (1972) – Russ DeKuyper *'' The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman'' (1974, TV Movie) – Master Bryant *'' The Terminal Man'' (1974) – Dr. John Ellis *'' The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder'' (1974) – Father *'' The Day of the Locust'' (1975) – Claude Estee *'' The Hindenburg'' (1975) – Captain Ernst A. Lehmann *'' It Happened One Christmas'' (1977, TV Movie) – Peter Bailey *'' An Enemy of the People'' (1978) – Aslaksen *''
Prophecy In religion, mythology, and fiction, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain di ...
'' (1979) – Isely *''
Meteor A meteor, known colloquially as a shooting star, is a glowing streak of a small body (usually meteoroid) going through Earth's atmosphere, after being heated to incandescence by collisions with air molecules in the upper atmosphere, creating a ...
'' (1979) – Secretary of Defense *'' Being There'' (1979) – Dr. Robert Allenby *'' Bitter Harvest'' (1981) – Dr. Morton Freeman *'' The Thing'' (1982) – Dr. Copper *'' The Falcon and the Snowman'' (1985) – Dr. Daulton Lee *'' Mask'' (1985) – Abe *'' Malice in Wonderland'' (1985, TV Movie) – Louis B. Mayer *'' Pale Rider'' (1985) – Coy LaHood *'' Warning Sign'' (1985) – Dr. Nielsen *'' Blood & Orchids'' (1986, TV Movie) – Harvey Koster *'' Castle in the Sky'' (1986) – Uncle Pom (English version, voice) *'' The Last Days of Patton'' (1986, TV Movie) – Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower *''
Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...
'' (1987) – Cromwell *'' Day One'' (1989, TV Movie) – President Harry S. Truman *'' War and Remembrance'' (1989, TV Movie) – President Harry S Truman *'' Back to the Future Part III'' (1990) – Barbwire Salesman *'' Panther'' (1995) – J. Edgar Hoover *'' Truman'' (1995, TV Movie) – Henry L. Stimson *''Todd McFarlane's Spawn'' (1997) – Cogliostro (voice) *'' Hard Rain'' (1998) – Henry Sears *''Todd McFarlane's Spawn 2'' (1998) – Cogliostro (voice) *''Todd McFarlane's Spawn 3: The Ultimate Battle'' (1999) – Cogliostro (voice) *'' L.A. Law: The Movie'' (2002, TV Movie) – Leland McKenzie *'' Proteus'' (2004, Documentary) – The Ancient Mariner (voice)


References


External links

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Richard Dysart
at Internet Off-Broadway Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Dysart, Richard 1929 births 2015 deaths American male television actors American male stage actors American male film actors Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Primetime Emmy Award winners Male actors from Boston 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors United States Air Force airmen United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War Emerson College alumni People from Augusta, Maine Deaths from cancer in California Cony High School alumni