Richard Allen Dysart was born to Alice (née Hennigar) and Douglas Dysart, a podiatrist, near Boston, Massachusetts, on March 30, 1929. Dysart was raised in Skowhegan, Maine and Augusta, Maine. He attended Gould Academy 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 in Boston, although his undergraduate education was interrupted due to his service for four years in the UNITED STATES AIR FORCE during the KOREAN WAR. 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. He returned for his master's degree later, completing it in 1981.
Dysart, who was best known for his role as Leland McKenzie on 'L.A. Law', was nominated for four Supporting Actor Emmys in a row for before winning in 1992. He got his start in radio as a teen and worked at New York's off-Broadway Circle in the Square Theatre in the 1950s. Among Broadway plays he was in were 1965's 'All In Good Time' and 1967's 'The Little Foxes' which was directed by Mike Nichols, in which Dysart played the role of Horace Giddens for all 100 performances alongside Anne Bancroft and E.G. Marshall. In 1972, he originated the role of The Coach in 'That Championship Season' for over 500 performances, in which he won the Drama Desk Award for that role. On television he appeared in several programs and made-for-TV movies, such as 'You Are There', 'The Defenders', 'Mr. Broadway', 'The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman', 'All in the Family', 'Baretta', 'Maude', 'The People vs. Jean Harris' and 'War and Remembrance' before he was cast as the senior partner in the legal drama, 'L.A. Law', which would go on to be his most recognizable role. On film, among his credits were 'The Lost Man' (1969), 'The Day of the Locust' (1975), 'An Enemy of the People' (1978), 'Being There' (1979), 'The Falcon and the Snowman' (1985), 'Mask' (1985), 'Wall Street' (1987) and 'Hard Rain' (1998).
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 on April 5, 2015, after a long battle with cancer. He was 86 years old.
ADDITIONAL BIO INFO: W.K.K. CROWN ESTATE
He earned both bachelor's (1956) and master's (1981)in speech communication from Emerson College in Boston, although his undergraduate education was interrupted due to his service for four years in the UNITED STATES AIR FORCE during the KOREAN WAR. 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. He returned for his master's degree later, completing it in 1981.
Dysart, who was best known for his role as Leland McKenzie on 'L.A. Law', was nominated for four Supporting Actor Emmys in a row for before winning in 1992. He got his start in radio as a teen and worked at New York's off-Broadway Circle in the Square Theatre in the 1950s. Among Broadway plays he was in were 1965's 'All In Good Time' and 1967's 'The Little Foxes' which was directed by Mike Nichols, in which Dysart played the role of Horace Giddens for all 100 performances alongside Anne Bancroft and E.G. Marshall. In 1972, he originated the role of The Coach in 'That Championship Season' for over 500 performances, in which he won the Drama Desk Award for that role. On television he appeared in several programs and made-for-TV movies, such as 'You Are There', 'The Defenders', 'Mr. Broadway', 'The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman', 'All in the Family', 'Baretta', 'Maude', 'The People vs. Jean Harris' and 'War and Remembrance' before he was cast as the senior partner in the legal drama, 'L.A. Law', which would go on to be his most recognizable role. On film, among his credits were 'The Lost Man' (1969), 'The Day of the Locust' (1975), 'An Enemy of the People' (1978), 'Being There' (1979), 'The Falcon and the Snowman' (1985), 'Mask' (1985), 'Wall Street' (1987) and 'Hard Rain' (1998).
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 on April 5, 2015, after a long battle with cancer. He was 86 years old.
ADDITIONAL BIO INFO: W.K.K. CROWN ESTATE
Richard Allen Dysart was born to Alice (née Hennigar) and Douglas Dysart, a podiatrist, near Boston, Massachusetts, on March 30, 1929. Dysart was raised in Skowhegan, Maine and Augusta, Maine. He attended Gould Academy 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 in Boston, although his undergraduate education was interrupted due to his service for four years in the UNITED STATES AIR FORCE during the KOREAN WAR. 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. He returned for his master's degree later, completing it in 1981.
Dysart, who was best known for his role as Leland McKenzie on 'L.A. Law', was nominated for four Supporting Actor Emmys in a row for before winning in 1992. He got his start in radio as a teen and worked at New York's off-Broadway Circle in the Square Theatre in the 1950s. Among Broadway plays he was in were 1965's 'All In Good Time' and 1967's 'The Little Foxes' which was directed by Mike Nichols, in which Dysart played the role of Horace Giddens for all 100 performances alongside Anne Bancroft and E.G. Marshall. In 1972, he originated the role of The Coach in 'That Championship Season' for over 500 performances, in which he won the Drama Desk Award for that role. On television he appeared in several programs and made-for-TV movies, such as 'You Are There', 'The Defenders', 'Mr. Broadway', 'The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman', 'All in the Family', 'Baretta', 'Maude', 'The People vs. Jean Harris' and 'War and Remembrance' before he was cast as the senior partner in the legal drama, 'L.A. Law', which would go on to be his most recognizable role. On film, among his credits were 'The Lost Man' (1969), 'The Day of the Locust' (1975), 'An Enemy of the People' (1978), 'Being There' (1979), 'The Falcon and the Snowman' (1985), 'Mask' (1985), 'Wall Street' (1987) and 'Hard Rain' (1998).
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 on April 5, 2015, after a long battle with cancer. He was 86 years old.
ADDITIONAL BIO INFO: W.K.K. CROWN ESTATE
He earned both bachelor's (1956) and master's (1981)in speech communication from Emerson College in Boston, although his undergraduate education was interrupted due to his service for four years in the UNITED STATES AIR FORCE during the KOREAN WAR. 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. He returned for his master's degree later, completing it in 1981.
Dysart, who was best known for his role as Leland McKenzie on 'L.A. Law', was nominated for four Supporting Actor Emmys in a row for before winning in 1992. He got his start in radio as a teen and worked at New York's off-Broadway Circle in the Square Theatre in the 1950s. Among Broadway plays he was in were 1965's 'All In Good Time' and 1967's 'The Little Foxes' which was directed by Mike Nichols, in which Dysart played the role of Horace Giddens for all 100 performances alongside Anne Bancroft and E.G. Marshall. In 1972, he originated the role of The Coach in 'That Championship Season' for over 500 performances, in which he won the Drama Desk Award for that role. On television he appeared in several programs and made-for-TV movies, such as 'You Are There', 'The Defenders', 'Mr. Broadway', 'The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman', 'All in the Family', 'Baretta', 'Maude', 'The People vs. Jean Harris' and 'War and Remembrance' before he was cast as the senior partner in the legal drama, 'L.A. Law', which would go on to be his most recognizable role. On film, among his credits were 'The Lost Man' (1969), 'The Day of the Locust' (1975), 'An Enemy of the People' (1978), 'Being There' (1979), 'The Falcon and the Snowman' (1985), 'Mask' (1985), 'Wall Street' (1987) and 'Hard Rain' (1998).
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 on April 5, 2015, after a long battle with cancer. He was 86 years old.
ADDITIONAL BIO INFO: W.K.K. CROWN ESTATE
Bio by: Louis du Mort
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