Known mainly for his roles in “Lethal Weapon”, “Santa Barbara” or “Dark Shadows”, American actor Mitchell Ryan died yesterday, Friday March 4, when he was 88 years old.
His daughter-in-law, informed The Hollywood Reporter that he succumbed after suffering from congestive heart failure while at his home in Los Angeles.
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Mitchell Ryan was raised for much of his childhood in Louisville, Kentucky. He discovered acting after the Korean War – he had joined the American Navy – when he acted in a local play in Virginia.
It was revealed in 1967 thanks to the “Dark Shadows” series. He is part of the original cast and plays Burke Devlin, an ex-con. He is quickly replaced by Anthony George because of his alcoholism.
This sudden highlight allowed him to land a major role in a film by and with Clint Eastwood“The Man of the High Plains”, in 1973. This year is definitely the one that marked his career since he appears in eight different audiovisual productions, such as “Eddie Coyle’s Friends”, by Peter Yates, or ” Magnum Force,” by Ted Post.
From movies to series
If he is confined to small roles in the cinema, he finds a kind of redemption on the small screen. He landed his first role in “Chase,” a one-season series in which he played Chase Reddick, the captain of a police unit like no other.
In the 1980s, Mitchell Ryan chained the roles in the television series: “Agency all risks”, “Les Souss de Palm Beach”, “Star Trek: The New Generation”, “North and South” (a miniseries on the civil war), “Dallas”, “Santa Barbara”, “For the love of risk”, “Madame is served” or even “Walker Texas Ranger».
The end of the 1990s was also significant in his career. In 1997, he starred in the film “Liar, Liar”, alongside Jim Carrey. From 1997 to 2002, he played in his last series: “Dharma & Greg”. But Mitchell Ryan held his very last role in 2005, in the film “Sofia’s Choice” in which he played a doctor.