Richard Reicheg (May 26, 1937 – July 30, 2021) was an American television, stage, and film actor, musician and a Grammy-nominated songwriter. His career spanned a period of over sixty years.
Reicheg wrote the song “For The Sake Of The Children” that is featured in the Robert Altman film ''
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
''
and for which he received a Grammy nomination in 1975.
His songs have been recorded and performed by many top artists, including
The Persuasions
The Persuasions are an American a cappella group that began singing together in Brooklyn, New York in the mid-1960s.
The Persuasions were formed in Brooklyn in 1962, singing a cappella under corner streetlights and in subway corridors. Their ...
,
Maria Muldaur
Maria Muldaur (born Maria Grazia Rosa Domenica D'Amato; September 12, 1942) is an American folk and blues singer who was part of the American folk music revival in the early 1960s. She recorded the 1973 hit song "Midnight at the Oasis" and has ...
,
Gary Wright
Gary Malcolm Wright (born April 26, 1943) is an American musician and composer best known for his 1976 hit songs " Dream Weaver" and " Love Is Alive", and for his role in helping establish the synthesizer as a leading instrument in rock and po ...
, and
Jay and the Americans
Jay and the Americans are an American rock group who formed in the late 1950s. Their initial line-up consisted of John "Jay" Traynor, Howard Kane (born Howard Kirschenbaum), Kenny Vance (born Kenneth Rosenberg) and Sandy Deanne (born Sandy Ya ...
. His song "Everybody's a Masterpiece" was recorded by
Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, with founding members consisting of vocalists Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, and Chuck Negron. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael Allsup ...
. Reicheg's "
Looking for an Echo
''Looking for an Echo'' is 2000 independent drama film.
Plot
The lead singer of an oldies group reminisces about the good ol' days and a potential comeback.
Cast
* Armand Assante as Vinnie Pirelli
**Rick Faugno as Young Vinnie Pirelli
* Diane V ...
" was recorded by
Kenny Vance
Kenny Vance (born Kenneth Rosenberg, December 9, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, and music producer who was a founding member of Jay and the Americans. His career spans from the 1950s to today, with projects ranging from starting doo-wo ...
, The Persuasions (on their album ''
Chirpin'''), and by others. The song was also the musical theme of the
Martin Davidson
Martin Davidson (born November 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, television director. After attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, he spent four (five counting tours) years as an actor in Off Broadway shows ...
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
of the same name. Film historian Jan Stewart has called Reicheg's song "For the Sake of the Children" an "ode to marital fidelity
hat is
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
a delicious postmodern balancing act of send up and the real McCoy."
Early years
Reicheg was born and raised in the
Crown Heights section of
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
in the shadow of
Ebbets Field
Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball stadium in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York. It is mainly known for having been the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team of the National League (1913–1957). It was also home to five p ...
. After graduating from
Erasmus Hall High School
Erasmus Hall High School was a four-year public high school located at 899–925 Flatbush Avenue between Church and Snyder Avenues in the Flatbush neighborhood of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It was founded in 1786 as Erasmus Hall Ac ...
, he served in the U.S. Army, stationed in Germany from 1956 to 1958. Upon discharge, he attended
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus.
Being New York City's first publ ...
, received a B.A. and M.A. degree in speech and theater, and acted in college productions. There he learned to play guitar and joined the burgeoning folk music scene in
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
. In various folk groups and as a solo performer, he toured extensively, playing coffee houses, cabarets and clubs in the U.S. and Canada, including
The Bitter End
The Bitter End is a 230-person capacity nightclub, coffeehouse and folk music venue in New York City's Greenwich Village. It opened in 1961 at 147 Bleecker Street under the auspices of owner Fred Weintraub. The club changed its name to ''The Ot ...
,
Gerde's Folk City
Gerdes Folk City, sometimes spelled Gerde's Folk City, was a music venue in the West Village, part of Greenwich Village, Manhattan, in New York City. Initially opened by owner Mike Porco as a restaurant called Gerdes, it eventually began to presen ...
, The Blue Angel and
The Troubadour. He was a featured performer at the
1964 New York World's Fair
The 1964–1965 New York World's Fair was a world's fair that held over 140 pavilions and 110 restaurants, representing 80 nations (hosted by 37), 24 US states, and over 45 corporations with the goal and the final result of building exhibits or ...
, and part of The American Hootenany Festival that toured colleges throughout the US. During those years he recorded for Laurie, 20th Century Fox (as Lenny and Dick) and Decca records (as Sunrise Highway).
Personal life
Prior to his death, Reicheg lived in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
with his wife
Julie Payne. He died on July 30, 2021, at the age of 84.
Filmography
Film
Television
Theater
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reicheg, Richard
1937 births
2021 deaths
People from Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Male actors from Brooklyn
American male singer-songwriters
Erasmus Hall High School alumni
Singers from Brooklyn
Singer-songwriters from New York (state)
Brooklyn College alumni