Richard Ward (March 15, 1915 – July 1, 1979) was a gravel-voiced

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

on the stage,

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

, and in films, from 1949 until his death. Though best known through his TV appearances late in life, both in

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

s and police procedurals, Ward also had an extensive film resume and a distinguished stage career, one of the highlights of the latter being his portrayal of

Willy Loman William "Willy" Loman is a fictional character and the protagonist of Arthur Miller's play ''Death of a Salesman'', which debuted on Broadway with Lee J. Cobb playing Loman at the Morosco Theatre on February 10, 1949. Loman is a 63-year-old t ...

in the 1972 production of ''

Death of a Salesman ''Death of a Salesman'' is a 1949 stage play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949, running for 742 performances. It is a two-act tragedy set in late 1940s Brooklyn told through a montage ...

'', staged in Baltimore's Center Stage (the first African American production of

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are ''All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

's signature opus, produced with the playwright's blessing). Ward's own favorite among his theatrical vehicles was ''

Ceremonies in Dark Old Men A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''. Church and civil (secular) ...

''.

Life and career

Ward was born in Glenside, Pennsylvania. He worked as a New York City police detective for ten years before beginning his acting career. An Actors Studio alumnus, Ward belatedly made his television debut in 1950 on the '' Perry Como Show'', later appearing on dramatic anthology series such as '' Playhouse 90'', '' Studio One'', and '' Hallmark Hall of Fame'', before becoming a familiar face on seventies sitcoms like ''

Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman ''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'' is an American satirical soap opera that aired in daily weeknight syndication from January 1976 to July 1977. The series follows the titular Mary Hartman, an Ohio housewife attempting to cope with various bizarre ...

'', ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series ''Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...

'' and ''

The Jeffersons ''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history, ...

''. Ward made three guest appearances on '' Good Times'' as James's dad Henry (the name that James was known by on '' Maude''), who had walked out on James' mom and siblings when he was younger. The first episode he appeared on, Henry was discovered by

Thelma Thelma is a female given name. It was popularized by Victorian writer Marie Corelli who gave the name to the title character of her 1887 novel ''Thelma (novel), Thelma''. It may be related to a Greek word meaning "will, volition" see ''thelema''). ...

at ship port where he was working and she brought him home to surprise James for his birthday. At first, James didn't want to see him, but after a deep conversation, Henry was welcomed by his son to join the celebration. James wished he could have 100 more years with his dad. The other two episodes Henry appeared on were after James' death. On '' Sanford and Son'', Ward appeared in the episode "The Stung" (1975); in it, Fred asks a professional gambler (played by Ward) to teach Lamont and his friends a lesson. In the

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

film for the cop show, '' Starsky & Hutch'', Ward played Captain Dobey, though in the series itself that role was played by

Bernie Hamilton Bernard Hamilton (June 12, 1928 – December 30, 2008) was an American actor. Best known as Captain Dobey in '' Starsky & Hutch'' (1975-1979). Biography Hamilton was born in East Los Angeles; his brother was jazz drummer Chico Hamilton. He a ...

. Ward did appear as a different character in one episode in the final series, shortly before his death due to a heart attack.

Filmography

References

External links

* * *
Richard Ward papers, 1949–1980
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...

*, include
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Richard 1915 births 1979 deaths American male film actors American male television actors African-American male actors Male actors from Philadelphia 20th-century American male actors People from Cheltenham, Pennsylvania American police officers Actors Studio alumni 20th-century African-American people