Richard Ward

At the age of eleven, Richard Ward started in showbiz, accompanying his two sisters in a vaudeville song and dance act called 'Dot, Flo and Dick'. From a tap-dancing kid, Richard grew into a burly, raspy-voiced young adult, whose physique became a major asset in his first career as a prize-fighter. After some 30 wins, both as professional and amateur, he quit and joined the police force, where he served for ten years as a detective with the office of Manhattan district attorney Frank Hogan. He also dabbled in the performing arts, appearing in such plays as "Anna Lucasta" at the American Negro Theatre. During World War II, Richard served as a sergeant major with the Army Signals Corps in the South Pacific. From the 1950's, Richard concentrated on his acting, continuing to appear on stage as well as playing dramatic roles in television. The high point in his career came, when he was cast in the pivotal role of Willy Loman in the Baltimore Centerstage production of "Death of a Salesman", directed by Lee Sankowich (as part of an all-black cast). On the screen, his dominant gravel-voiced persona lent itself ideally to portraying authority figures, usually police officers like Captain Dobey in Starsky and Hutch (1975). In private life, he was said to have been an amiable character, whose simple pleasures included fishing and cooking. Just prior to his untimely death, Richard had enjoyed his first major breakthrough in motion pictures, playing Steve Martin's father in The Jerk (1979), and one of the long-term inmates in warden Robert Redford's prison in Brubaker (1980).