Mitchell Ryan

Ryan was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and raised in Louisville, Kentucky.[1] His father was a salesman and his mother was a writer.[2] He served in the United States Navy during the Korean War.[1]

A life member of the Actors Studio,[3] Ryan's Broadway theatre credits include Wait Until Dark, Medea, and The Price.[4] His off-Broadway credits include Antony and Cleopatra (1963) and The Price (1979).[5]

Ryan was an original cast member on the cult TV soap opera Dark Shadows, playing Burke Devlin until he was fired from the show in June 1967 due to his alcoholism,[6][7][8] and replaced by Anthony George.

In 1970, Ryan was in one episode of The High Chaparral as a character named Jelks, who was on the run from the law.

He appeared in an episode of Cannon, "Fool's Gold" in 1971, and in ABC's The Streets of San Francisco episode "The Unicorn". He portrayed the title character, Chase Reddick, on the crime drama Chase (1973–74).[9]

Mitchell Ryan in Chase

In 1975, Ryan played in Barnaby Jones, in the episode titled "Counterfall". He portrayed the leading character, Dan Walling, on Executive Suite (1976–77)[9]^: 316 and played Blake Simmons in the drama Julie Farr, M.D. (1978–79).[9]^: 549

Ryan portrayed Cooper Hawkins on the Western series The Chisholms (1980),[9]^{: 185–186} Sam Garrett on King's Crossing (1982)[9]^: 567 Brennan Flannery on High Performance (1983),[9]^: 459 Edward Wyler on Hot Pursuit (1984),[9]^: 478 and Porter Tremont on 2000 Malibu Road (1992).[9]^{: 1122–1123}

His other acting credits include the films Liar Liar; Magnum Force playing as Dirty Harry's ill-fated despondent best friend and fellow police officer, a motorcycle patrolman named Charlie McCoy; Lethal Weapon playing the key villain General Peter McAllister; Grosse Pointe Blank; Electra Glide in Blue; and Hot Shots! Part Deux, playing senator Grey Edwards. In 1985, he portrayed Tillet Main, the patriarch of the Main family in the first North and South miniseries. In 1991, he played Ellis Blake in the sixth season Matlock episode "The Foursome".

Ryan appeared in NBC's The A-Team; he played Ike Hagan, as Grant Everett in a two-part Silk Stalkings episode; and as Kyle Riker, the father of Commander William Riker, in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Icarus Factor"; Ryan had been considered for the part of series lead Captain Jean-Luc Picard.[10] He also portrayed the roles of the abusive boyfriend of Blanche Devereaux, Rex Huntington, in The Golden Girls episode "The Bloom is off the Rose", and a police officer in a 1993 episode of NYPD Blue. The same year, Ryan was Dallas Shields in Renegade. 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 in the films Judge Dredd and Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers as Dr. Terence Wynn (played by Robert Phalen in the original Halloween film).

He played the role of Greg's father, Edward Montgomery, on the comedy Dharma & Greg (1997–2002).[9]^: 256 The following year, Ryan voiced Highfather on Justice League.

He was the president of Screen Actors Guild Foundation.[11]

Ryan married Lynda Morse in 1972.[12] They later divorced. The couple had one child. In 1998 Ryan married Barbara Albertine, after 11 years of being together. They have two children and five grandchildren. Ryan died of heart failure at his home in Los Angeles, California on March 4, 2022, at the age of 88.[13]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mitchell Ryan.

• Mitchell Ryan at IMDb
• Mitchell Ryan at the Internet Broadway Database
• Mitchell Ryan at the Internet Off-Broadway Database