Richard Venture obit

Richard Venture, Character Actor in ‘Scent of a Woman,’ ‘Being There’ and Lots More, Dies at 94

His many credits also include 'The Hunter,' 'Heartbreak Ridge,' 'The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd' and 'Seinfeld.'

 

He was not on the list.

Richard Venture, the prolific character actor who lent gravitas to the best picture Oscar nominees All the President’s Men, Missing and Scent of a Woman and dozens of other films and TV shows, has died. He was 94.

Venture died Dec. 19 in Chester, Connecticut, his daughter Rebecca told The Hollywood Reporter.

Venture was especially memorable as Peter Sellers’ valet in Hal Ashby’s Being There (1979) and as a cop who commits suicide in Steve McQueen’s final film, The Hunter (1980).

His body of work also includes roles in The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972), The Greatest (1977), Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), The Onion Field (1979), Touch and Go (1986), Heartbreak Ridge (1986), The Sicilian (1987), Courage Under Fire (1996) and Red Corner (1997).

Venture portrayed Blair Brown’s dad on the TV series The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, and on Seinfeld, he played the father of Jerry’s then-girlfriend (Catherine Keener) — his character also was an accountant and co-worker of Elaine’s, which tied things together rather nicely — on the 1992 episode “The Letter.”

 

Often cast as authoritarian figures, Venture was an assistant Metro editor in Alan J. Pakula’s All the President’s Men (1976) and a U.S. ambassador in Costa-Gavras‘ Missing (1982), and in Martin Brest’s Scent of a Woman (1992), he was Al Pacino’s brother, Willie, in the memorably uncomfortable Thanksgiving Day dinner scene.

“He wasn’t a household name,” his daughter noted, “but his volume of work and his adaptability always stand out.”

Venture also had recurring roles on shows including Street Hawk, Falcon Crest, The Boys, Law & Order and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and stints on The Waltons, Knots Landing, Brooklyn Bridge, The Thorn Birds, Valerie, L.A. Law and Murder, She Wrote, among many other series.

Born Richard Venturella on Nov. 11, 1923, in West New York, New Jersey, Venture enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served aboard aircraft carriers in the South Pacific during World War II.

He made his Broadway debut in Dinosaur Wharf in 1951, the first of his several appearances on the Great White Way, and later was a member of the Arena Stage theater company in Washington, D.C., and the Long Wharf theater company in New Haven, Connecticut.

After his career, he retired to Old Lyme, Connecticut.

Venture was married four times, to actresses Grayce Grant, Emmy winner Olivia Cole (Roots, Backstairs at the White House) and Lorraine O’Donnell and to Katherine Venture.

His wife survives him, as do his children Anthony, Kathy, Rebecca and John and nine grandchildren.

Filmography

Film Year             Title       Role       Notes

1965      Dark Intruder     The 1st Man      

1972      The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds           Floyd Hunsdorfer            

1974      Man on a Swing                Man in Motel    

1976      Diary of the Dead             Fergy    

1976      All the President's Men Assistant Metro Editor #4            

1977      Airport '77           Commander Guay           

1977      The Greatest      Colonel Cedrich                

1977      Looking for Mr. Goodbar               Doctor

1978      The Betsy            Mark Sampson

1979      The Onion Field                 Detective Glenn Bates   

1979      The Last Word   Ellinger

1979      Being There        Wilson

1980      The Hunter         Captain Spota   

1981      Looker Cindy's Father   

1982      Missing                 U.S Ambassador              

1986      Touch and Go    Gower

1986      Heartbreak Ridge             Colonel Myers  

1987      The Sicilian          Cardinal of Palermo        

1990      Navy SEALs         Admiral Colker

1992      Scent of a Woman           William Slade    

1994      Imaginary Crimes             Judge Klein        

1996      Courage Under Fire         Don Boylar         

1997      Red Corner         Ambassador Reed           

2001      Series 7: The Contenders              Franklin James   (final film role)

TV Year                 Title       Role       Notes

1958      Playhouse 90     Passerby              Episode "Seven Against the Wall"

1976      The Practice       Mr. Miller            Episode "Jules and Eddie"

1976      Helter Skelter    Police Inspector               

1978      Wheels Arenson              

1979      From Here to Eternity    Colonel Delbart                

1980      Rape and Marriage: The Rideout Case     Judge Richard Barber     

1981      The Best Little Girl in the World Dr. Neil Holzer  

1982      The Executioner's Song Earl Dorius         

1983      The Thorn Birds                Harry Gough      

1983      Cocaine: One Man's Seduction   Dan Hatten        

1984      Steambath          Dr. Eglin               Episode "The Big Bang"

1985      Street Hawk        Commander Leo Altobelli             13 episodes

1985      Golden Girls       Milton   1 episode

1986      Second Serve     Dr. David Radley              

As Summers Die                Brevard Holt      

1987      Billionaire Boys Club       Nelson Prescott               

The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd          Unknown           

1990      L.A. Law                Abe Lassen          Episode "Bound for Glory"

1991-2000          Law & Order       Douglas Greer  

1993      The Boys              Al Kozarian

1993      The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.         Mack Brackman                Episode "Showdown"