Richard Dysart
Encyclopedia
Richard A. Dysart is an American actor, perhaps best known for his role as Leland McKenzie on the NBC
legal drama
L.A. Law
.
Dysart served for four years in the Air Force
during the Korean War
. In 1979, he was featured in the film Being There
, portraying a good-hearted physician. In 1980, he portrayed Abraham Lincoln
's Secretary of War Edwin Stanton in the television film The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd
. He also lent his voice to the kindly miner Uncle Pom in the Disney English language version of Hayao Miyazaki
's 1986 adventure classic, Castle in the Sky
, he also lent his voice to the character of "Cogliostro" on Todd McFarlane's Spawn
: The Animated Series, which aired on HBO. He starred in movies such as The Last Days of Patton
, Being There
, The Day of the Locust
, The Rumor Mill, Pale Rider
, The Falcon and the Snowman
, Prophecy
, The Thing, Warning Sign
, Hard Rain
, Mask, An Enemy of the People, The Hospital
, and The Hindenburg
.
The scene where his L.A. Law character, Leland, the patriarchal and stiff founder of a successful law practice, was revealed to be in bed with competitor Rosalind Shays (Diana Muldaur
) was ranked as the 38th greatest moment in television in an issue of EGG magazine. He earned one Emmy Award, and three more nominations, for his role as McKenzie on L.A. Law.
Dysart was a founding member of the American Conservatory Theater
, San Francisco. He attended Gould Academy
in Bethel, Maine
. He received the Drama Desk Award in 1972 and an Emmy Award
in 1992. He is a brother of the Phi Alpha Tau
fraternity based out of Emerson College
in Boston
. In 1990, Dysart was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Law. He is also a certified open water diver.
Dysart and his wife, artist Kathryn Jacobi, have been married since 1987.
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
legal drama
Legal drama
A legal drama is a work of dramatic fiction about crime and civil litigation. Subtypes of legal dramas include courtroom dramas and legal thrillers, and come in all forms, including novels, television shows, and films. Legal drama sometimes overlap with crime drama, most notably in the case of Law...
L.A. Law
L.A. Law
L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,...
.
Dysart served for four years in the Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. In 1979, he was featured in the film Being There
Being There
Being There is a 1979 American comedy-drama film directed by Hal Ashby. Adapted from the 1971 novella written by Jerzy Kosinski, the screenplay was coauthored by Kosinski and Robert C. Jones. The film stars Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas, Jack Warden, Richard A...
, portraying a good-hearted physician. In 1980, he portrayed Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
's Secretary of War Edwin Stanton in the television film The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd
Samuel Mudd
Samuel Alexander Mudd I, M.D. was an American physician who was convicted and imprisoned for aiding and conspiring with John Wilkes Booth in the 1865 assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. He was pardoned by President Andrew Johnson and released from prison in 1869...
. He also lent his voice to the kindly miner Uncle Pom in the Disney English language version of Hayao Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki
is a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli,...
's 1986 adventure classic, Castle in the Sky
Castle in the Sky
All compositions by Joe Hisaishi.#"The Girl Who Fell from the Sky" – 2:27#"Morning in Slag Ravine" – 3:04#"A Fun Brawl " – 4:27#"Memories of Gondoa" – 2:46#"Discouraged Pazu" – 1:46#"Robot Soldier " – 2:34...
, he also lent his voice to the character of "Cogliostro" on Todd McFarlane's Spawn
Todd McFarlane's Spawn
Todd McFarlane's Spawn was an animated television series which aired on HBO from 1997 through 1999. It was based on the Spawn comic series from Image Comics, and was nominated for and won an Emmy in 1999 for Outstanding Animation Program...
: The Animated Series, which aired on HBO. He starred in movies such as The Last Days of Patton
The Last Days of Patton
The Last Days of Patton is a 1986 made-for-television film sequel to the 1970 film Patton, which portrays the last few months of the general's life. George C. Scott reprises the role of General George S. Patton, and Eva Marie Saint portrays Beatrice Patton, the general's wife. The film was...
, Being There
Being There
Being There is a 1979 American comedy-drama film directed by Hal Ashby. Adapted from the 1971 novella written by Jerzy Kosinski, the screenplay was coauthored by Kosinski and Robert C. Jones. The film stars Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas, Jack Warden, Richard A...
, The Day of the Locust
The Day of the Locust (film)
The Day of the Locust is a 1975 American drama film directed by John Schlesinger. The screenplay by Waldo Salt is based on the 1939 novel of the same title by Nathanael West...
, The Rumor Mill, Pale Rider
Pale Rider
Pale Rider is a 1985 American western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood, who also stars in the lead role. This movie has plot similarities to the classic Western Shane , including in its final scene, as well as previous Eastwood films featuring his Man with No Name character and his 1973...
, The Falcon and the Snowman
The Falcon and the Snowman
The Falcon and the Snowman is a 1985 film directed by John Schlesinger about two young American men, Christopher Boyce and Daulton Lee , who sold U.S. security secrets to the Soviet Union...
, Prophecy
Prophecy (film)
Prophecy is a 1979 horror film directed by John Frankenheimer and written by David Seltzer. It stars Robert Foxworth, Talia Shire and Armand Assante....
, The Thing, Warning Sign
Warning Sign (film)
Warning Sign is a 1985 science fiction-horror film directed by Hal Barwood and starring Sam Waterston, Kathleen Quinlan, and Yaphet Kotto.-Plot:...
, Hard Rain
Hard Rain (film)
Hard Rain is a 1998 American/British action thriller disaster movie, produced by Mark Gordon, written by Graham Yost and directed by former cinematographer turned director Mikael Salomon...
, Mask, An Enemy of the People, The Hospital
The Hospital
The Hospital is a 1971 black comedy film directed by Arthur Hiller and starring George C. Scott as Dr. Herbert Bock. The script was written by Paddy Chayefsky, who was awarded the 1972 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.-Plot:...
, and The Hindenburg
The Hindenburg (film)
The Hindenburg is a 1975 American film based on the disaster of the German airship Hindenburg. The film stars George C. Scott. It was produced and directed by Robert Wise, and was written by Nelson Gidding, Richard Levinson and William Link based on the book of the same name by Michael M. Mooney .A.A...
.
The scene where his L.A. Law character, Leland, the patriarchal and stiff founder of a successful law practice, was revealed to be in bed with competitor Rosalind Shays (Diana Muldaur
Diana Muldaur
Diana Muldaur is an Emmy-nominated American film and television actress.-Career:Born in New York City, but raised on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, Muldaur started acting in high school and continued on through college, graduating from Sweet Briar College in Virginia in 1960. She studied acting...
) was ranked as the 38th greatest moment in television in an issue of EGG magazine. He earned one Emmy Award, and three more nominations, for his role as McKenzie on L.A. Law.
Dysart was a founding member of the American Conservatory Theater
American Conservatory Theater
American Conservatory Theater is a large non-profit theater company in San Francisco, California, that offers both classical and contemporary theater productions. A.C.T. was founded in 1965 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Playhouse and Carnegie Tech by theatre and...
, San Francisco. He attended Gould Academy
Gould Academy
Gould Academy is a private, co-ed, college preparatory boarding and day school located in the small town of Bethel, Maine, United States. Founded in 1835, the school offers skiing and snowboarding programs, although unlike specialized "ski academies" it remains first and foremost a college-prep...
in Bethel, Maine
Bethel, Maine
Bethel is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,411 at the 2000 census. It includes the villages of West Bethel and South Bethel...
. He received the Drama Desk Award in 1972 and an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
in 1992. He is a brother of the Phi Alpha Tau
Phi Alpha Tau
Phi Alpha Tau is the oldest professional communicative arts fraternity in the United States, founded in 1902 by Walter Bradley Tripp at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded to support the student-run debate society at Emerson College, and maintain its status as a student run...
fraternity based out of Emerson College
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private coeducational university located in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of oratory," Emerson is "the only comprehensive college or university in America dedicated exclusively to communication and the arts in a liberal arts...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. In 1990, Dysart was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Law. He is also a certified open water diver.
Dysart and his wife, artist Kathryn Jacobi, have been married since 1987.
External links
- Richard Dysart at Internet Off-Broadway Database