Mitchell Ryan obit

Mitchell Ryan, Actor in ‘Lethal Weapon’ and ‘Dharma & Greg,’ Dies at 88

He also starred in 'Magnum Force' and 'Monte Walsh,' on Broadway in the original 'Wait Until Dark' and on soap operas including 'Dark Shadows' and 'All My Children.'

 

He was not on the list.

Mitchell Ryan, the square-jawed character actor who played a heroin-smuggling retired general in the first Lethal Weapon movie, an ex-con on Dark Shadows and an obnoxious father on Dharma & Greg, has died. He was 88.

Ryan died Friday of congestive heart failure at his home in Los Angeles, his stepdaughter Denise Freed told The Hollywood Reporter.

Ryan was perhaps at his best as Shorty Austin, a ranch hand who gets mixed up with the wrong crowd, in the Lee Marvin-Jack Palance Western Monte Walsh (1970), directed by William Fraker from a novel by Jack Schaefer (Shane).

Ryan had a big year in 1973, when he appeared opposite Clint Eastwood in High Plains Drifter and Magnum Force — in the latter as a burned-out motorcycle patrolman — with Robert Mitchum in Peter Yates’ The Friends of Eddie Coyle and as a hippie-hating detective alongside Robert Blake in Electra Glide in Blue.

Ryan also portrayed the head of a sanitarium and leader of a Druid-like cult in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995), Hugh Hefner in Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story (1981) and Minnie Driver’s father in Grosse Pointe Blank (1997).

As Gen. Peter McAllister, Ryan gets trapped in an overturned car and goes up in a ball of flames on Hollywood Boulevard in Richard Donner’s Lethal Weapon (1987), done in by detectives Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) in their first cinematic partnership.

Later, Ryan played it for laughs on about 120 episodes of the 1997-2002 ABC sitcom Dharma & Greg as Edward Montgomery, the rich, boozy father of Greg (Thomas Gibson) and proud Notre Dame graduate who frequently tussles with Dharma’s hippie dad (Alan Rachins).

For three years, Ryan appeared as ex-con Burke Devlin on Dark Shadows before being fired in 1966. “I was so drunk that year, I barely remember what it was about,” he told TV Guide in 1976. (He said he eventually gave up booze.)

On Facebook, his Dark Shadows co-star Kathryn Leigh Scott wrote that Ryan “was a great gift in my life. I cherish my warm memories of his beautiful soul. I’m heartbroken.” He played Burke Devlin on the soap, and she was Maggie Evans.

He later appeared on other daytime serials including All My Children, Santa Barbara and General Hospital.

In a 2018 interview, Ryan said he almost landed the role of Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

“I was pretty well considered until they ran across that incredible British actor … Patrick Stewart,” he said. “I don’t know how close I came, but I was told [at the time] I was really being considered and it was looking good.”

He did appear on the series in 1989 as the estranged father of Cmdr. William Riker (Jonathan Frakes).

“We are deeply saddened to say goodbye to Mitch, who was an active and proud member of Screen Actors Guild for decades,” said SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland in a statement on Sunday. “He inspired many to union service and loved the craft of acting, helping to create many of the performer programs at the then-Screen Actors Guild Foundation. We are grateful and better as a union for his dedication.”

Ryan was born in Cincinnati on Jan. 11, 1934, and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. His father was a novelty salesman and his mother a writer.

After a stint in the U.S. Navy, where he served in the special services entertainment unit during the Korean War, Ryan became convinced that acting was for him after he saw Warren Oates star in a 1953 production of Dark of the Moon in Louisville.

“If you are [young] and have no feelings of your own, the theater has a fatal attraction,” he told TV Guide. “I became totally involved, worked for nothing, 20 hours a day. Playing at being somebody else took me out of myself and gave the illusion of meaning and worth.”

He moved to New York and worked on the stage and in television, then made his film debut in Thunder Road (1958), starring Mitchum.

“I had a small scene with Mitchum, who was just short of being a god and at the height of his popularity,” Ryan recalled. “He stood by the camera joking with the crew. At last I heard my scene called, at which point Mitchum walked over to me, was silent for a second and then said, ‘Remember, I’m Big Mitch and you’re Little Mitch.’ He looked grim, then burst out laughing and said, ‘Let ‘s do this fucking thing.’ “

Ryan appeared on such TV shows as Naked City and The Defenders and joined Joseph Papp’s New York Shakespeare Festival, then made it to Broadway in 1966 as one of the bad guys who terrorize a blind woman (Lee Remick) in the thriller Wait Until Dark, directed by Arthur Penn.

He noted that in Monte Walsh, his character was billed as the “second best bronc rider in the West.” Ryan, however, had never ridden a horse before and thus earned the nickname “The Lincoln Center Kid” on the set.

In the 1970s, Ryan starred in three short-lived TV series: Chase, a cop show co-created by Stephen J. Cannell; Executive Suite, based on the 1954 William Holden movie; and Having Babies, a hospital drama.

His film credits also include Two-Minute Warning (1976), Midway (1976), Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993), Speechless (1994), Judge Dredd (1995), Liar Liar (1997) and The Devil’s Own (1997). He appeared in the 1983 episode of Hart to Hart 'Highland Fling'. In 1994, he appeared again in Hart to Hart in one of the made-for-TV movies, "Home Is Where the Hart Is". In 1995. He appeared as four different characters in the show Murder She Wrote with Angela Lansbury. Other TV series he appeared on include Wings, Champs, Dark Skies, Silk Stalkings, Justice League, Renegade, Walker Texas Ranger, Reasonable Doubts, One West Waikiki, 2000 Malibu Rule, Mann & Machine, The Young Riders, Civil Wars, In a Child’s Name, NYPD Blue, Riptide, North & South Book 1, The A- Team, Fatal Vision, Hot Pursuit, Dallas, Hotel, Hardcastle & McCormick, Medea, High Performance, The Monkey Mission, The Choice, Of Mice and Men, Uncommon Valor, Angel City, Having Babies, The Chisolms, Family, Flesh and Blood,and several more.

In addition to his stepdaughter, survivors include his wife, Barbara; grandchildren Ashley, Jacqueline, Olivia, Kaila and Noah; daughter-in-law Elizabeth; and sister-in-law Mary.

He published a memoir, Fall of a Sparrow, in 2021.

Filmography

Actor (136 credits)

  Valley of Shadows (pre-production)

Kenton MacBride

 2021 Smartphone Theatre (TV Series)

Harry

- What Friends Do (#Expendables) (2021) ... Harry

 2005 Love for Rent

Doctor (uncredited)

 2004 The Drew Carey Show (TV Series)

Woody

- Drew Hunts Silver Fox (2004) ... Woody

 2004 The West Wing (TV Series)

Senator Roland Pierce

- The Supremes (2004) ... Senator Roland Pierce

 2003 Justice League (TV Series)

Highfather

- Twilight: Part II (2003) ... Highfather (voice, as Mitch Ryan)

- Twilight (2003) ... Highfather (voice, as Mitch Ryan)

 1997-2002 Dharma & Greg (TV Series)

Edward Montgomery

- The Mamas and the Papas: Part 2 (2002) ... Edward Montgomery

- The Mamas and the Papas: Part 1 (2002) ... Edward Montgomery

- Tuesday's Child (2002) ... Edward Montgomery

- The Parent Trap (2002) ... Edward Montgomery

- The Tooth Is Out There (2002) ... Edward Montgomery

1999 Making Contact

Hunter (as Mitch Ryan)

 1999 Aftershock: Earthquake in New York (TV Mini Series)

Frank Agostini

- Part 2 (1999) ... Frank Agostini

- Part 1 (1999) ... Frank Agostini

 1998 Life of the Party: The Pamela Harriman Story (TV Movie)

Averell Harriman (as Mitch Ryan)

 1997 The Practice (TV Series)

Judge George Nelson

- The Civil Right (1997) ... Judge George Nelson

 1997 Spy Game (TV Series)

Morganthal

- What, Micah Worry? (1997) ... Morganthal

 1997 Grosse Pointe Blank

Mr. Bart Newberry

 1997 Liar Liar

Mr. Allan

 1997 Dark Skies (TV Series)

William Paley

- To Prey in Darkness (1997) ... William Paley

 1997 The Devil's Own

Chief Jim Kelly

 1996 Wings (TV Series)

Jonathan Clayton

- Wingless: Part 3 (1996) ... Jonathan Clayton

- Wingless: Part 2 (1996) ... Jonathan Clayton

- Wingless: Part 1 (1996) ... Jonathan Clayton

 1996 Champs (TV Series)

Mr. Schuster

- We'll Never Have Paris (1996) ... Mr. Schuster

 1996 Raven Hawk (TV Movie)

White (as Mitch Ryan)

 1996 Ed

Abe Woods

 1996 A Face to Die For (TV Movie)

Joe Thomas (as Mitch Ryan)

 1995 Silk Stalkings (TV Series)

Grant Everett

- Partners: Part 2 (1995) ... Grant Everett

- Partners: Part 1 (1995) ... Grant Everett

 1985-1995 Murder, She Wrote (TV Series)

Senator Brent Renwyck / Rep. Arthur Prouty / Captain Ernest Lenko / ...

- Big Easy Murder (1995) ... Senator Brent Renwyck

- The List of Yuri Lermentov (1991) ... Rep. Arthur Prouty

- The Cemetery Vote (1987) ... Captain Ernest Lenko

- Capitol Offense (1985) ... Ray Dixon

 1995 The Single Guy (TV Series)

Mr. Brimley

- Babysitting (1995) ... Mr. Brimley (as Mitch Ryan)

- Tennis (1995) ... Mr. Brimley

 1995 Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers

Dr. Wynn

 1995 Judge Dredd

Vartis Hammond

 1995 Gramps (TV Movie)

Oliver (as Mitch Ryan)

 1994 Speechless

Lloyd Wannamaker

 1994 Blue Sky

Ray Stevens

 1994 One West Waikiki (TV Series)

Cosmetic Surgeon

- 'Til Death Do Us Part (1994) ... Cosmetic Surgeon (as Mitch Ryan)

 1993-1994 Renegade (TV Series)

Ted Bronson / Dallas Shields

- Murderer's Row: Part Two (1994) ... Ted Bronson

- Murderer's Row (1994) ... Ted Bronson

- Fighting Cage: Part 2 (1993) ... Dallas Shields

- Fighting Cage: Part 1 (1993) ... Dallas Shields

 1994 Walker, Texas Ranger (TV Series)

Judge Riley

- The Committee (1994) ... Judge Riley

 1994 Hart to Hart: Home Is Where the Hart Is (TV Movie)

Chief Carson

 1993 NYPD Blue (TV Series)

Jack Hanlan

- Emission Accomplished (1993) ... Jack Hanlan

 1993 Star (TV Movie)

Harrison Barclay

 1993 Hot Shots! Part Deux

Gray Edwards

 1993 Reasonable Doubts (TV Series)

Hugh Mandrake

- Wish You Were Here (1993) ... Hugh Mandrake

 1992 The Opposite Sex and How to Live with Them

Kenneth Davenport (as Mitch Ryan)

 1992 Majority Rule (TV Movie) (as Mitch Ryan)

 1992 2000 Malibu Road (TV Series)

Porter

- Episode #1.6 (1992) ... Porter

- Episode #1.5 (1992) ... Porter

- Episode #1.3 (1992) ... Porter

- Episode #1.2 (1992) ... Porter

 1992 Dirty Work (TV Movie) (as Mitch Ryan)

 1992 The Young Riders (TV Series)

- Lessons Learned (1992) ... (as Mitch Ryan)

 1992 Mann & Machine (TV Series)

Bennet Tyler

- Water, Water, Everywhere (1992) ... Bennet Tyler (as Mitch Ryan)

 1992 Civil Wars (TV Series)

Judge Kosarin

- Denise and De Nuptials (1992) ... Judge Kosarin (as Mitch Ryan)

 1992 Aces: Iron Eagle III

Simms (as Mitch Ryan)

 1991 Matlock (TV Series)

Ellis Blake

- The Foursome (1991) ... Ellis Blake

 1991 In a Child's Name (TV Mini Series)

Peter Chappell

- Episode #1.2 (1991) ... Peter Chappell

- Episode #1.1 (1991) ... Peter Chappell

 1991 Deadly Game (TV Movie)

Admiral Mark Nately

 1991 Hunter (TV Series)

Tom Reed

- Shadows of the Past (1991) ... Tom Reed

 1991 The Golden Girls (TV Series)

Rex

- The Bloom Is Off the Rose (1991) ... Rex

 1990 L.A. Law (TV Series)

Duncan Young

- Smoke Gets in Your Thighs (1990) ... Duncan Young

 1990 Judgment (TV Movie)

Dave Davis (as Mitch Ryan)

 1990 Who's the Boss? (TV Series)

Jack

- Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind? (1990) ... Jack

 1989-1990 Jake and the Fatman (TV Series)

Ethan Mitchell / Lt. Dan Gorecki

- The Tender Trap (1990) ... Ethan Mitchell

- The Lady in Red (1989) ... Lt. Dan Gorecki (as Mitch Ryan)

 1989 Santa Barbara (TV Series)

Anthony Tonell

- Episode #1.1344 (1989) ... Anthony Tonell

- Episode #1.1342 (1989) ... Anthony Tonell

- Episode #1.1341 (1989) ... Anthony Tonell

- Episode #1.1340 (1989) ... Anthony Tonell

- Episode #1.1339 (1989) ... Anthony Tonell

1989 Hardball (TV Series)

- The Fighting 52nd (1989) ... (as Mitch Ryan)

 1989 Mission: Impossible (TV Series)

Admiral Edgar Sheppard

- Submarine (1989) ... Admiral Edgar Sheppard

 1989 Margaret Bourke-White (TV Movie)

Patton (as Mitch Ryan)

 1989 Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV Series)

Kyle Riker

- The Icarus Factor (1989) ... Kyle Riker

 1989 The Ryan White Story (TV Movie)

Tom (as Mitch Ryan)

 1989 Winter People

Drury Campbell

 1988 Favorite Son (TV Mini Series)

Vice President Dan Eastman

- Part One (1988) ... Vice President Dan Eastman

 1987 Lethal Weapon

The General

 1987 St. Elsewhere (TV Series)

George Deaton

- Rites of Passage (1987) ... George Deaton

 1986 The Penalty Phase (TV Movie)

Judge Donald Faulkner (as Mitch Ryan)

 1986 Northstar (TV Movie)

Col. Even Marshall (as Mitch Ryan)

 1986 All My Children (TV Series)

Alex Hunter

- Episode #1.4186 (1986) ... Alex Hunter (as Mitch Ryan)

 1985 Hostage Flight (TV Movie)

Captain Malone

 1985 North & South: Book 1, North & South (TV Mini Series)

Tillet Main

- Episode #1.6 (1985) ... Tillet Main (credit only)

- Episode #1.5 (1985) ... Tillet Main (credit only)

- Episode #1.4 (1985) ... Tillet Main (credit only)

- Episode #1.3 (1985) ... Tillet Main (credit only)

- Episode #1.2 (1985) ... Tillet Main

1985 The A-Team (TV Series)

Ike Hagen

- Waste 'Em! (1985) ... Ike Hagen

 1985 Riptide (TV Series)

Col. John Litvak

- Boz Busters (1985) ... Col. John Litvak

 1985 Robert Kennedy and His Times (TV Mini Series)

Robert McNamara

- Episode #1.1 (1985) ... Robert McNamara (as Mitch Ryan)

 1984 Fatal Vision (TV Mini Series)

Paul Strombaugh

- Episode #1.2 (1984) ... Paul Strombaugh (as Mitch Ryan)

- Episode #1.1 (1984) ... Paul Strombaugh (as Mitch Ryan, credit only)

 1984 Hot Pursuit (TV Series)

Mr. Wyler

- Home Is the Heart: Part 2 (1984) ... Mr. Wyler (as Mitch Ryan)

- Home Is the Heart: Part 1 (1984) ... Mr. Wyler (as Mitch Ryan)

 1984 Dallas (TV Series)

Cpt. Merwin Fogerty

- If at First You Don't Succeed (1984) ... Cpt. Merwin Fogerty

- Battle Lines (1984) ... Cpt. Merwin Fogerty

- Killer at Large (1984) ... Cpt. Merwin Fogerty

 1984 Hotel (TV Series)

Steve Cutler

- Lifelines (1984) ... Steve Cutler

 1984 Hardcastle and McCormick (TV Series)

Sheriff 'Stretch' Carter

- The Homecoming: Part 2 (1984) ... Sheriff 'Stretch' Carter

- The Homecoming: Part 1 (1984) ... Sheriff 'Stretch' Carter

 1983/I Medea (TV Movie)

Jason

 1983 Hart to Hart (TV Series)

Ramsey T. MacLaish

- Highland Fling (1983) ... Ramsey T. MacLaish

 1983 Kenny Rogers as The Gambler: The Adventure Continues (TV Movie)

Charlie McCourt

 1983 High Performance (TV Series)

Brennan Flannery

- Along Came a Spider (1983) ... Brennan Flannery (as Mitch Ryan)

 1983 Uncommon Valor (TV Movie)

Chief Tom Riordan

 1982 King's Crossing (TV Series)

Sam Garrett

- Long Ago Tomorrow (1982) ... Sam Garrett (as Mitch Ryan)

 1981 Of Mice and Men (TV Movie)

Slim (as Mitch Ryan)

 1981 Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story (TV Movie)

Hugh Hefner

 1981 The Five of Me (TV Movie)

Dr. Ralph B. Allison (as Mitch Ryan)

 1981 The Monkey Mission (TV Movie)

Keyes (as Mitch Ryan)

 1981 The Choice (TV Movie)

Jerry Clements (as Mitch Ryan)

 1980 Angel City (TV Movie)

Silas Creedy (as Mitch Ryan)

 1980 The Chisholms (TV Series)

Cooper Hawkins

- The Siren Song (1980) ... Cooper Hawkins

- Chains (1980) ... Cooper Hawkins

- The Suitor (1980) ... Cooper Hawkins

- The Promised Land (1980) ... Cooper Hawkins

- Death in the Sierras (1980) ... Cooper Hawkins

1978-1979 Having Babies (TV Series)

Dr. Blake Simmons

- Transition (1979) ... Dr. Blake Simmons

- Captive (1979) ... Dr. Blake Simmons

- Sisters (1979) ... Dr. Blake Simmons

- Episode dated 26 June 1978 (1978) ... Dr. Blake Simmons

- Careers (1978) ... Dr. Blake Simmons

1979 Flesh & Blood (TV Movie)

Jack Fallon

 1978 Family (TV Series)

Mike Dunston

- Expectations (1978) ... Mike Dunston

 1978 Sergeant Matlovich vs. the U.S. Air Force (TV Movie)

Lt. Col. Applegate (as Mitch Ryan)

 1978 Having Babies III (TV Movie)

Dr. Blake Simmons (as Mitch Ryan)

 1977 Christmas Miracle in Caufield, U.S.A. (TV Movie)

Matthew Sullivan

 1977 Peter Lundy and the Medicine Hat Stallion (TV Movie)

Jethro Lundy (as Mitch Ryan)

 1977 Escape from Bogen County (TV Movie)

Ambler Bowman (as Mitch Ryan)

 1977 Most Wanted (TV Series)

Keith Garner

- The Spellbinder (1977) ... Keith Garner

 1976-1977 Executive Suite (TV Series)

Dan Walling

- Re: Aftermath of a Tragedy (1977) ... Dan Walling

- Re: Passionate Journey (1977) ... Dan Walling

- Re: The Rules of Seduction (1977) ... Dan Walling

- Re: The Woman Inside (1977) ... Dan Walling

- Re: Kin Less Than Kind (1977) ... Dan Walling

1976 Two-Minute Warning

The Priest

 1976 Midway

RAdm. Aubrey W. Fitch (uncredited)

 1976 The Hemingway Play (TV Movie)

Ernest

 1976 The Blue Knight (TV Series)

Pete Stryker

- Cop Killer (1976) ... Pete Stryker (as Mitch Ryan)

 1975 Baretta (TV Series)

Bax Baxter

- Nobody in a Nothing Place (1975) ... Bax Baxter

 1975 The Entertainer (TV Movie)

Mr. Pasko (as Mitch Ryan)

 1975 The Rockford Files (TV Series)

Colonel Hopkins

- 2 Into 5.56 Won't Go (1975) ... Colonel Hopkins

 1975 Barnaby Jones (TV Series)

Dennis Kelly

- Counterfall (1975) ... Dennis Kelly

 1971-1975 Cannon (TV Series)

Ed Farrell / John Flatow / Alexander Roper

- Perfect Fit for a Frame (1975) ... Ed Farrell

- Murder by Moonlight (1972) ... John Flatow

- Fool's Gold (1971) ... Alexander Roper

 1974 The Manhunter (TV Series)

Tom Bailey

- The Man Who Thought He Was Dillinger (1974) ... Tom Bailey

 1973-1974 Chase (TV Series)

Capt. Chase Reddick / Captain Chase Reddick

- The People Parlay (1974) ... Captain Chase Reddick (as Mitch Ryan)

- Eighty-Six Proof TNT (1974) ... Capt. Chase Reddick (as Mitch Ryan)

- Remote Control (1974) ... Capt. Chase Reddick (as Mitch Ryan)

- Out of Gas (1974) ... Capt. Chase Reddick (as Mitch Ryan)

- Hot Beef (1974) ... Capt. Chase Reddick (as Mitch Ryan)

1973 Magnum Force

McCoy

 1973 The Friends of Eddie Coyle

Waters

 1973 Electra Glide in Blue

Harve Poole

 1973 High Plains Drifter

Dave Drake

 1973 The Streets of San Francisco (TV Series)

Abel Hoffman

- The Unicorn (1973) ... Abel Hoffman

 1973 The Fuzz Brothers (TV Movie)

Ben

 1972 A Reflection of Fear

Inspector McKenna (as Mitch Ryan)

 1972 The Honkers

Lowell

 1971 O'Hara, U.S. Treasury (TV Series)

Brad Fletcher

- Operation: Payoff (1971) ... Brad Fletcher

 1971 Chandler

Charles 'Chuck' Kincaid

 1971 The Hunting Party

Doc Harrison

 1971 My Old Man's Place

Sgt. Martin Flood (as Mitch Ryan)

 1970 Monte Walsh

Shorty Austin

 1970 The High Chaparral (TV Series)

Jelks

- Jelks (1970) ... Jelks

 1967-1969 N.Y.P.D. (TV Series)

Mr. Whitaker / Joseph Robert Maloney

- The Body in the Trunk (1969) ... Mr. Whitaker

- The Boy Witness (1967) ... Joseph Robert Maloney

 1967 Coronet Blue (TV Series)

Oscar Davis

- Faces (1967) ... Oscar Davis (as Mitch Ryan)

 1966-1967 Dark Shadows: The Vampire Curse (TV Series)

Burke Devlin

- Episode #1.248 (1967) ... Burke Devlin

- Episode #1.247 (1967) ... Burke Devlin

- Episode #1.245 (1967) ... Burke Devlin

- Episode #1.242 (1967) ... Burke Devlin

- Episode #1.237 (1967) ... Burke Devlin

1961-1965 The Defenders (TV Series)

Jack Bostick / Harry Cook

- The Prosecutor (1965) ... Jack Bostick

- Killer Instinct (1961) ... Harry Cook (as Mitch Ryan)

 1961-1963 Naked City (TV Series)

Paul Tamarind / Driver / Quale / ...

- Barefoot on a Bed of Coals (1963) ... Paul Tamarind (as Mitch Ryan)

- Lament for a Dead Indian (1962) ... Driver (uncredited)

- The Hot Minerva (1961) ... Quale (as Mitch Ryan)

- Button in the Haystack (1961) ... Overton (as Mitch Ryan)

- The Well-Dressed Termite (1961) ... Marty Minters (as Mitch Ryan)

 1963 General Hospital (TV Series)

Frank Smith #2 (1993-1994)

 1961 'Way Out (TV Series)

Bill Fontaine

- Soft Focus (1961) ... Bill Fontaine (as Mitch Ryan)

 1961 Play of the Week (TV Series)

- The Old Foolishness (1961)

 1959 Armstrong Circle Theatre (TV Series)

- The Jailbreak (1959) ... (as Mitch Ryan)

 1959 Brenner (TV Series)

Detective Mack

- Record of Arrest (1959) ... Detective Mack (as Mitch Ryan)

 1958 Thunder Road

Jed Moultrie