Lee Richardson

The Voice That Commanded the Set

Lee Richardson had a voice that carried weight. He never needed to shout for viewers to feel that something important was happening on screen. In 1985 he played Dominic Prizzi in The Honor of the Prizzis, and that role made it clear he belonged among Hollywood's great supporting actors.

Before shooting with John Huston, he helped found the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis in 1963. That was no minor project. Richardson wanted a space where the text came first, not the spectacle, and he spent years refining a restrained style that he would later bring to New York television.

Theater was his true school.

But movies didn't come knocking in a big way until his hair had already gone gray. In 1981 he took part in Prince of the City under the direction of Sidney Lumet. That shoot demanded a gritty realism that Richardson handled with astonishing ease. He didn't chase cheap applause or constant close-ups.

The Authority of the Premium Supporting Actor

He accepted roles as powerful men who hid murky secrets. In 1990, he played the university rector in The Exorcist III. His performance was so restrained that it unsettled audiences more than the film's special effects.

And the gamble paid off.

Throughout the eighties, his face became a familiar presence in productions that are now cult favorites. In 1989 he starred in The Fly II as Anton Bartok. Although the film never reached the level of Cronenberg's original, Richardson's work as a corporate villain saved many scenes from disaster.

Richardson understood that his craft meant serving the story. In 1959 he had already earned a Tony nomination for his role in The Legend of Lizzie. That early recognition let him choose his projects with a freedom few actors of his generation could afford.

She never wanted to be a star.

An Ending Without Grand Goodbyes

He worked for as long as his body allowed. In 1990 he appeared in Von Bülow Mystery alongside Jeremy Irons. His ability to blend into any setting kept many casting directors putting him at the top of their list for upper-class roles or stern judges.

In 1991 he took part in Passion Without Barriers and once again proved there were no small roles. His physical presence filled the frame effortlessly. He stayed busy through the decade, building a steady run of work in television series and independent films.

Lee Richardson died in New York on October 2, 1999, from heart failure. He was 73 years old. His last registered credit was the film A Stranger in the Kingdom, shot in 1997. The industry said goodbye to an actor who racked up more than eighty credits across film and television without ever needing magazine covers.