Mitchell Ryan

Mitchell Ryan
Mitchell Ryan in 1973
Born	(1934-01-11)January 11, 1934 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Died	March 4, 2022(2022-03-04) (aged 88) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1958–2022
Spouse	Lynda Morse ​ ​ (m. 1972; div. 1982)​ Barbara Ryan ​ (m. 1998)​
Children	3

Mitchell Ryan (January 11, 1934^[1] – March 4, 2022) was an American actor. His six decades of television credits, he is known for playing Burke Devlin in the 1960s gothic soap opera Dark Shadows, and later for his co-starring role as Thomas Gibson's father Edward Montgomery on Dharma & Greg. He also played the villainous General Peter McAllister in the 1987 buddy cop action film Lethal Weapon.

Ryan was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and raised in Louisville, Kentucky.^[2] His father was a salesman and his mother was a writer.^[3] He served in the United States Navy during the Korean War.^[2]

A life member of the Actors Studio,^[4] Ryan's Broadway theatre credits include Wait Until Dark, Medea, and The Price.^[5] His off-Broadway credits include Antony and Cleopatra (1963) and The Price (1979).^[6]

Ryan was an original cast member of the cult TV soap opera Dark Shadows, playing Burke Devlin until he was dismissed from the show in June 1967 due to his alcoholism,^[7][8][9] 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).^[10]

In 1975, Ryan played in Barnaby Jones, in the episode titled "Counterfall". He portrayed the leading character, Dan Walling, on Executive Suite (1976–77)^[10]: 316 and played Blake Simmons in the drama Julie Farr, M.D. (1978–79).^[10]: 549

Ryan portrayed Cooper Hawkins on the Western series The Chisholms (1980),^{[10]: 185–186} Sam Garrett on King's Crossing (1982)^[10]: 567 Brennan Flannery on High Performance (1983),^[10]: 459 Edward Wyler on Hot Pursuit (1984),^[10]: 478 and Porter Tremont on 2000 Malibu Road (1992).^{[10]: 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.^[11] 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).^[10]: 256 The following year, Ryan voiced Highfather on Justice League.

He was the president of Screen Actors Guild Foundation.^[12]

Mitch Ryan married Lynda Morse in 1972 and they had a son named Tim Ryan.^[13] He later married Barbara Albertine, and had five grandchildren. Ryan died of heart failure at his home in Los Angeles, California, on March 4, 2022, at the age of 88.^[14]

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