CINEFILER

Richard Dysart

Born
March 30, 1929
Died
April 5, 2015
Was 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 TV movie 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 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. Description above from the Wikipedia article Richard Dysart, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
The Thing
(1982)
Dr. Copper
Back to the Future Part III
(1990)
Barbwire Salesman
Pale Rider
(1985)
Coy LaHood
The Hindenburg
(1975)
Lehman
Wall Street
(1987)
Cromwell
Being There
(1979)
Dr. Robert Allenby
Mask
(1985)
Abe
Prophecy
(1979)
Trevor Isley
Meteor
(1979)
Secretary of Defense
Hard Rain
(1998)
Henry Sears
Warning Sign
(1985)
Dr. Nielsen
The Day of the Locust
(1975)
Claude Estee
The Hospital
(1971)
Dr. Welbeck
Bogie
(1980)
Jack Warner
The Falcon and the Snowman
(1985)
Dr. Lee
The Terminal Man
(1974)
Dr. John Ellis
Full Filmography
Acting
Love with the Proper Stranger
(1963)
Accountant (uncredited)
Petulia
(1968)
Motel Receptionist
Shadow Game
(1969)
The Lost Man
(1969)
Barnes
The Sporting Club
(1971)
Spengler
The Hospital
(1971)
Dr. Welbeck
The Terminal Man
(1974)
Dr. John Ellis
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
(1974)
Master Bryant
The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder
(1974)
Father
The Day of the Locust
(1975)
Claude Estee
The Hindenburg
(1975)
Lehman
Riding with Death
(1976)
Leonard Driscoll
The Court-Martial of George Armstrong Custer
(1977)
President Ulysses S. Grant
It Happened One Christmas
(1977)
Peter Bailey
An Enemy of the People
(1978)
Aslaksen
First, You Cry
(1978)
Dr. Brennerman
Churchill and the Generals
(1979)
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower
Prophecy
(1979)
Trevor Isley
Being There
(1979)
Dr. Robert Allenby
Meteor
(1979)
Secretary of Defense
Bogie
(1980)
Jack Warner
The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd
(1980)
Edwin Stanton
People vs. Jean Harris
(1981)
Judge Russell R. Leggett
Bitter Harvest
(1981)
Dr. Morton Freeman
Missing Children: A Mother's Story
(1982)
Hunter Burgess
The Thing
(1982)
Dr. Copper
Malice in Wonderland
(1985)
Louis B. Mayer
Warning Sign
(1985)
Dr. Nielsen
The Falcon and the Snowman
(1985)
Dr. Lee
Pale Rider
(1985)
Coy LaHood
Mask
(1985)
Abe
The Last Days of Patton
(1986)
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower
L.A. Law: Pilot
(1986)
Leland McKenzie
Blood & Orchids
(1986)
Harvey Koster
Six Against the Rock
(1987)
Warden James Johnston
Wall Street
(1987)
Cromwell
Jay Leno's Family Comedy Hour
(1987)
Self
Mickey's 60th Birthday
(1988)
Leland McKenzie
Your Alcohol I.Q.
(1988)
Self
Moving Target
(1988)
Arthur Cambridge
Day One
(1989)
President Harry S. Truman
Back to the Future Part III
(1990)
Barbwire Salesman
Marilyn & Bobby: Her Final Affair
(1993)
J. Edgar Hoover
A Child Is Missing
(1995)
Riley Hallihan
Truman
(1995)
Henry L. Stimson
Panther
(1995)
J. Edgar Hoover
Todd McFarlane's Spawn
(1997)
Cogliostro (voice)
Todd McFarlane's Spawn 2
(1998)
Cogliostro
Hard Rain
(1998)
Henry Sears
Todd McFarlane's Spawn 3: The Ultimate Battle
(1999)
Cogliostro
L.A. Law: The Movie
(2002)
Leland McKenzie
Proteus: A Nineteenth Century Vision
(2004)
The Ancient Mariner (voice)
Everything Is Terrible! The Movie
(2009)
Self (archive footage)
Data provided by TMDB