Richard Lynch(1940-2012)
- Actor
- Producer
Richard Hugh Lynch was born on February 12, 1940 in Brooklyn, New York
City, to Irish immigrant parents. He was one of seven children. Before starting a career as an
actor, he joined the United States Marine Corps in 1958. He served for
four years where he made Corporal, and did a tour of the Middle East
with the Sixth Fleet. He began his training with
Herbert Berghof and
Uta Hagen at H.B. Studios in New York's
Greenwich Village, and later went on to train extensively with
Lee Strasberg at Carnegie Hall. In 1970,
he became a lifetime member of the Actors Studio and spent years in the
New York theater community playing in dozens of on- and off-Broadway
productions. The more notable plays were: "The Basic Training of Pavlo
Hummel", "The Lion in Winter", "The Devils", "The Lady from the Sea",
"Action", "Live Like Pigs", "Richard III", "Offi on a Tangerine", "A
View from the Bridge", "The Man with the Flower in His Mouth", and
Shelley Winters' "One Night Stands of a
Noisy Passenger".
Lynch made his film debut in the classic film
Scarecrow (1973), winner of the Grand
Prix Award at the Cannes Film Festival. His performance in Scarecrow
launched his film career and brought him to Hollywood, where he has
worked in film and television for over twenty years. His more prominent
film work has been in:
The Seven-Ups (1973),
Open Season (1974),
The Formula (1980),
Invasion U.S.A. (1985),
Bad Dreams (1988),
Little Nikita (1988), Dostoyevsky's
Crime and Punishment (2002),
and William Peter Blatty's
The Ninth Configuration (1980).
His performance as the evil King Cromwell, in the successful fantasy
film
The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982),
won him the Saturn Award for Best Actor from the Academy of Science
Fiction and Fantasy. Although best known for playing villains, he was
cast as the President of the United States in
Mil Mascaras vs. the Aztec Mummy (2007).
He also starred in numerous television series and Movies of the Week,
such as
Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story (1980),
Sizzle (1981),
Vampire (1979),
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979),
Battlestar Galactica (1978),
and the
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)
two-part episode "Gambit". His work in a variety of independent films
has won him a high profile internationally. He has also worked in
China, where he played in the first joint production between the Screen
Actors' Guild and the People's Republic of China, The Korean Project.
In his spare time, Richard enjoys fishing, the arts, architecture,
music and poetry. He is also fluent in several languages including
German and Italian.
City, to Irish immigrant parents. He was one of seven children. Before starting a career as an
actor, he joined the United States Marine Corps in 1958. He served for
four years where he made Corporal, and did a tour of the Middle East
with the Sixth Fleet. He began his training with
Herbert Berghof and
Uta Hagen at H.B. Studios in New York's
Greenwich Village, and later went on to train extensively with
Lee Strasberg at Carnegie Hall. In 1970,
he became a lifetime member of the Actors Studio and spent years in the
New York theater community playing in dozens of on- and off-Broadway
productions. The more notable plays were: "The Basic Training of Pavlo
Hummel", "The Lion in Winter", "The Devils", "The Lady from the Sea",
"Action", "Live Like Pigs", "Richard III", "Offi on a Tangerine", "A
View from the Bridge", "The Man with the Flower in His Mouth", and
Shelley Winters' "One Night Stands of a
Noisy Passenger".
Lynch made his film debut in the classic film
Scarecrow (1973), winner of the Grand
Prix Award at the Cannes Film Festival. His performance in Scarecrow
launched his film career and brought him to Hollywood, where he has
worked in film and television for over twenty years. His more prominent
film work has been in:
The Seven-Ups (1973),
Open Season (1974),
The Formula (1980),
Invasion U.S.A. (1985),
Bad Dreams (1988),
Little Nikita (1988), Dostoyevsky's
Crime and Punishment (2002),
and William Peter Blatty's
The Ninth Configuration (1980).
His performance as the evil King Cromwell, in the successful fantasy
film
The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982),
won him the Saturn Award for Best Actor from the Academy of Science
Fiction and Fantasy. Although best known for playing villains, he was
cast as the President of the United States in
Mil Mascaras vs. the Aztec Mummy (2007).
He also starred in numerous television series and Movies of the Week,
such as
Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story (1980),
Sizzle (1981),
Vampire (1979),
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979),
Battlestar Galactica (1978),
and the
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)
two-part episode "Gambit". His work in a variety of independent films
has won him a high profile internationally. He has also worked in
China, where he played in the first joint production between the Screen
Actors' Guild and the People's Republic of China, The Korean Project.
In his spare time, Richard enjoys fishing, the arts, architecture,
music and poetry. He is also fluent in several languages including
German and Italian.