Richard Dysart, who achieved TV fame in the 80s as firm partner Leland McKenzie on the hit show “L.A. Law,” succumbed to a long illness on April 5 at his home in Santa Monica, California, E! News reports. The stage and screen star was 86 years old.
Dysart was featured on the entire run of “L.A. Law” from 1986 until the series finale in 1994, and won an Emmy in 1992 for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
In addition to his TV work, Dysart was a prolific movie actor, tallying up multiple film credits over his lengthy career in films such as The Thing, The Falcon and the Snowman, Mask, Wall Street and Back to the Future Part III.
But he also graced the Broadway stage, winning a Drama Desk Award for That Championship Season, and was a co-founder of the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco.
A.C.T. issued a statement on Facebook remembering Dysart.
“A.C.T. mourns the loss of one of our founding members, Richard Dysart. Hand-picked by William Ball in 1965 to be part of the original acting company at A.C.T. in Philadelphia, Richard moved to San Francisco in 1967 when the company relocated to The Geary Theater. Here, he performed a staggering number of iconic characters—Willy Loman, Gloucester, Captain Cat, Uncle Vanya, and the father in Six Characters in Search of an Author (the play that first brought him and Bill Ball together)—and directed A.C.T.’s first staging of the Edward Albee classic, The Zoo Story, all in one season!
After moving to Los Angeles, he found even greater success on TV and is perhaps best known to audiences as Leland McKenzie in the classic series “L.A. Law.” Richard was a true actor’s actor; we celebrate the life of this incredible talent.”
Blair Underwood, Dysart’s co-star on “L.A. Law” back in the day, wrote, “I just found that my old friend Richard Dysart passed away today; age 86. A big heart and perfect gentleman. You will be missed! #LAlaw #the1990s.”
Debi Mazar also shared her sentiments, tweeting, “R.I.P #RichardDysart amazing actor whom I’ve had the privilege to work on LA Law! He was our ‘dad’ on the set. My condolences to his family.”
