Rickey Lee Lawson (born March 7, 1947Collier, Aldore
"Richard Lawson's 5 Brushes With Death"
''

Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...

'', volume 47, number 9, July 1992, p. 32.) is an American actor who has starred in movies and on television. He is perhaps best known for his roles in genre films; he portrayed Ryan in the 1982 film ''

Poltergeist In German folklore and ghostlore, a poltergeist ( or ; ; or ) is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional descriptions of polter ...

'', and Dr. Ben Taylor in the 1983

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

miniseries '' V''.

Early life and career

Born Rickey Lee Lawson in

Loma Linda, California Loma Linda ( Spanish for "Beautiful Hill") is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States, that was incorporated in 1970. The population was 24,791 at the 2020 census, up from 23,261 at the 2010 census. The central area of the ...

, Lawson was drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and became a medic. He served 21 months in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

and was wounded in action. After completing his military duty, he embarked on an acting career. His first feature film role (uncredited) was that of a gay man targeted for murder in the 1971 movie ''

Dirty Harry ''Dirty Harry'' is a 1971 American action-thriller film produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the Dirty Harry (film series), ''Dirty Harry'' series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first appearance as San Francisco Polic ...

''. In 1973, he played Willis in '' Scream Blacula Scream''. His other well known roles include the 1979 movie '' The Main Event'', and the 1984 drama '' Streets of Fire'', where he played Officer Ed Price. Lawson's first ongoing starring role in a television series was in Australian drama ''

Hotel Story ''Hotel Story'' was an Australian television series made by Crawford Productions (now Crawfords Australia) for the Ten Network in 1977. The series, intended as a replacement for ''The Box (soap opera), The Box'', was set in a luxury internatio ...

'' in 1977, however, that series was cancelled before the first episode aired. He later starred in the 1980s series '' Chicago Story''; he took the ongoing role of Nick Kimball on the prime time

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 ...

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

'' from 1986 to 1987, appeared in '' The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd'' as Detective Nathaniel Hawthorne from 1989 to 1991, and was in the daytime soap opera ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2 ...

'' as Lucas Barnes from 1992 to 1994. Lawson has made many guest appearances on television, including roles on ''

Kojak ''Kojak'' is an American Action film, action Crime film, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theophilus "Theo" Kojak. Tak ...

'', '' Get Christie Love!'', '' Sister, Sister'', ''

Soul Food Soul food is the ethnic cuisine of African Americans. Originating in the Southern United States, American South from the cuisines of Slavery in the United States, enslaved Africans transported from Africa through the Atlantic slave trade, sou ...

'', ''

The Bernie Mac Show ''The Bernie Mac Show'' (often shortened to ''Bernie Mac'' in syndication) is an American sitcom television series created by Larry Wilmore, that aired on Fox for five seasons from November 14, 2001, to April 14, 2006. The series featured Ber ...

'', ''

The Division ''The Division'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Deborah Joy LeVine starring Bonnie Bedelia. The series focuses on a team of female detectives and police officers in the San Francisco Police Department. Th ...

'', ''

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 ...

'' and ''

Strong Medicine ''Strong Medicine'' is an American medical drama with a focus on feminist politics, health issues and class conflict that aired on the Lifetime network from 2000 to 2006. It was created and produced in part by Whoopi Goldberg, who made cam ...

''.

Personal life

Lawson was married to his first wife, actress Denise Gordy, from New Year's Eve 1978 until 1989.Ancestry.com. Nevada, Marriage Index, 1956-2005 atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007. They have one daughter, actress Bianca Lawson, born in 1979. Lawson also has a son named Ricky, born in 1992. On March 22, 1992, Lawson survived the USAir Flight 405 plane crash, after take-off from

LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport ( ) – colloquially known as LaGuardia or simply LGA – is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, situated on the North Shore (Long Island), northwestern shore of Long Island, bord ...

, in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. During the summer of 2013, he began dating Tina Knowles, fashion designer and mother of singers

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

and

Solange Knowles Solange Piaget Knowles (; born June 24, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She expressed an interest in music from an early age and had temporary stints as a backup dancer for Destiny's Child, which featured her older sister ...

. Lawson and Knowles had known each other for over 30 years, as she was the best friend of his late sister. As a result, Lawson stated that he had "always admired her from afar and up close too." The couple married on April 12, 2015. Knowles filed for divorce in July 2023, and it was finalized in 2024.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawson, Richard Living people Male actors from California American male film actors United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War American male soap opera actors People from Loma Linda, California Survivors of aviation accidents or incidents American male television actors United States Army soldiers 20th-century African-American male actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American male actors 1947 births Knowles–Carter family