Richard Dysart Biography

Fast Facts

• Served as a member of the U․S․ Air Force for four years during the Korean War
• Won a Drama Desk Award for his role in "That Championship Season" in 1972
• Graduated from Emerson College with a master's degree in speech communication
• Was awarded an honorary doctorate of law in 1990
• Worked for his local radio station during his youth in Kennebec Valley, Maine
• Began his acting career in the mid-1950s working off-Broadway in New York
• Best known for his role as Leland McKenzie on NBC's "L․A․ Law," a character he played for almost a decade
• Often portrayed American political figures including Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower and J․ Edgar Hoover
• One of the co-founders of San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater