Richard Reicheg obit

Actor Richard Reicheg Has Died

He was not on the list.

Richard Reicheg was an American television, stage, and film actor, musician and a Grammy-nominated songwriter. His career spanned a period of over sixty years.

Reicheg wrote the song “For The Sake Of The Children” that is featured in the Robert Altman film Nashville and for which he received a Grammy nomination in 1975.

His songs have been recorded and performed by many top artists, including The Persuasions, Maria Muldaur, Gary Wright, and Jay and the Americans. His song "Everybody's a Masterpiece" was recorded by Three Dog Night. Reicheg's "Looking for an Echo" was recorded by Kenny Vance, The Persuasions (on their album Chirpin'), and by others. The song was also the musical theme of the Martin Davidson film of the same name. Film historian Jan Stewart has called Reicheg's song "For the Sake of the Children" an "ode to marital fidelity [that is] a delicious postmodern balancing act of send up and the real McCoy.

Reicheg was born and raised in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn in the shadow of Ebbets Field. After graduating from Erasmus Hall High School, he served in the U.S. Army, stationed in Germany from 1956 to 1958. Upon discharge, he attended Brooklyn College, received a B.A. and M.A. degree in speech and theater, and acted in college productions. There he learned to play guitar and joined the burgeoning folk music scene in Greenwich Village. In various folk groups and as a solo performer, he toured extensively, playing coffee houses, cabarets and clubs in the U.S. and Canada, including The Bitter End, Gerde's Folk City, The Blue Angel and The Troubadour. He was a featured performer at the 1964 New York World's Fair, and part of The American Hootenany Festival that toured colleges throughout the US. During those years he recorded for Laurie, 20th Century Fox (as Lenny and Dick) and Decca records (as Sunrise Highway).

Prior to his death, Reicheg lived in Los Angeles, California with his wife Julie Payne. He died on July 30, 2021, at the age of 84.

 

Filmography

Film

Title      Role            Director           Year

Charlie Wilson's War            Navy Buddy  Mike Nichols

Tripper News Anchor David Arquette          

Monkey Trouble            Mr. Big's Henchman            Franco Amurri 

Oh, God! Book II            Karl            Gil Cates  

First Family            Agent Fowler Buck Henry  

Dirty Business            Albert (Lead)  John McCauley       

Delta Fox            Howard          Ferd Sebastian         

Leprechaun III            Lucky            Brian Trenchard-Smith   

Americathon            Hebrab Terrorist            Neil Israel   

Television

Title      Credit            Year(s)

Betty White's Off Their Rockers            Series Regular

Alias     Co-Star     

Days of Our Lives            Recurring        

High Incident            Guest Star     

The West Side Waltz MOW)            Co-Star     

Dream On            Guest Star

Empty Nest (3)            Guest Star     

Beverly Hills 90210  Guest Star     

The Golden Girls     Guest Star     

Beverly Hills Buntz    Guest Star     

Dallas   Guest Star     

Sledge Hammer!            Guest Star     

What a Country!            Guest Star     

Remington Steele (2)            Guest Star     

The A-Team            Guest Star     

Hardcastle & McCormick            Guest Star     

Faerie Tale Theatre Guest Star     

Quincy, M.E.            Guest Star     

The White Shadow            Guest Star     

Married to the Mob (pilot)            Recurring        

Brooklyn Bridge            Recurring        

Hill Street Blues    Guest Star     

Long Days of Summer (MOW)            Guest Star     

Superior Court            Guest Star     

General Hospital            Recurring        

The Desperate Miles (MOW)            Lead   

Two Guys from MUCK (pilot)            Recurring        

Monster Manor (pilot)            Recurring        

Police Story (2)            Guest Star     

Newhart            Guest Star     

C.H.I.P.S.            Guest Star     

Rhoda  Guest Star     

The Odd Couple Guest Star     

Young and the Restless            Recurring        

Kojak (2)            Guest Star     

Theater

Title      Role            Theater            Year

Twilight of the Golds   Walter            Booth Theater, Broadway (Standby)        

California Suite            Marvin/Mort    Drury Lane, Chicago 

A Bedfull of Foreigners            Karak            Drury Lane, Union Plaza, Las Vegas

Chapter Two            Leo            Cherry County Playhouse, Michigan         

Murder at the Howard Johnson's            Mitch            Cherry County Playhouse        

A Thousand Clowns            Chuckles            Arlington Park, Chicago           

Barefoot in the Park            Telephone Man            Arlington Park (Joseph Jefferson Award)           

The Odd Couple            Speed/Roy      Major Cities Tour      

Room Service            Binion            Loretto Hilton, St. Louis   

Little Murders            Alfred            Manitoba Theatre Center, Winnipeg         

Gangster Planet            Dad            Met Theater, Los Angeles           

At the Mat            Albert            Figtree Theater, Los Angeles           

Prisoner of Venice  Swede            Zephyr Theatre, Los Angeles           

Sophie and Willa            Leonard          Tiffany Theater, Los Angeles