Lee Richardson (September 11, 1926 – October 2, 1999) was an American stage and screen actor. He acted in numerous Broadway and Off-Broadway productions and was a prolific player in regional theatres, co-founding Minneapolis' Guthrie Theater in 1963. On-screen, he often worked with director Sidney Lumet, appearing in several of his films between 1976 and 1992. He was nominated for a Tony Award in 1972, for his role in Robert Bolt's Vivat! Vivat Regina!.
Life and career Richardson was born in Chicago, Illinois. During World War II, he served in the Army Air Forces and was stationed in England, where he was introduced to the works of William Shakespeare and Noël Coward. After an honorable discharge, Richardson enrolled in Loyola University Chicago as a prelaw major. After one semester, he decided to pursue the dramatic arts instead, and left Loyola to study at the Goodman Theatre's acting school.
Richardson was one of several founding members of the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. His Shakespearean background saw him often play characters with a clipped English accent, and he was sometimes mistaken to be British. In 1972, he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in Vivat! Vivat Regina!.
Richardson appeared in such films as Brubaker, Prince of the City, Prizzi's Honor, Tiger Warsaw, The Fly II, Q&A, The Exorcist III, Daniel and A Stranger Among Us and such television series as Law & Order and Hearts and Minds. He also narrated Network and appeared in the television film Skylark. He appeared in an uncredited role as Franklin D. Roosevelt in Truman.
Personal life and death Richardson died of cardiac arrest on October 2, 1999, in New York City, aged 73.
Partial theatre credits
1952: Summer and Smoke 1956-57: Saint Joan 1957: Volpone 1959: The Legend of Lizzie 1960: Summer and Smoke 1960-61: Becket 1961: The Death of Bessie Smith 1962: The Merchant of Venice 1962: Someone From Assisi 1962: King Lear 1962-63: Lord Pengo 1963: Hamlet 1963: Death of a Salesman 1964: Saint Joan 1964: The Glass Menagerie 1964: Volpone 1965: Richard III 1966: The Skin of Our Teeth 1968-69: The House of Atreus 1968-69: The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui 1970: Othello 1970: The Revenger's Tragedy 1971: Macbeth 1972: Vivat! Vivat Regina! 1973: The Jockey Club Stakes 1974: Find Your Way Home 1976: The Oldest Living Graduate 1979: Trick 1980: Tricks of the Trade 1979: Father's Day 1980: Goodbye Fidel 1980: Tricks of the Trade 1982: The Twelve-Pound Look 1983: Quartermaine's Terms 1983: It's Showdown Time 1984: Desire Under the Elms 1985: The Waltz of the Toreadors 1988-89: The Devil's Disciple 1990: Ivanov 1991: Getting Married
Filmography
1959: Middle of the Night - Lockman's son 1976: Network - Narrator (voice) 1980: Brubaker - Warden Renfro 1981: Prince of the City - Sam Heinsdorff 1983: Daniel as Reporter 1983: I Am the Cheese - Mr. Grey 1985: Prizzi's Honor - Dominic Prizzi 1987: Sweet Lorraine - Sam 1987: Amazing Grace and Chuck - Jeffries 1987: The Believers - Dennis Maslow 1988: Tiger Warsaw - Mitchell Warsaw 1989: The Fly II - Anton Bartok 1990: Q&A - Leo Bloomenfeld 1990: The Exorcist III - University President 1992: A Stranger Among Us - Rebbe
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