Richard Ward (actor)

{{Infobox person |name = Richard Ward | image = Cropped_Photo_of_Richard_Ward.jpg | caption = |birth_date = {{birth date|1915|3|15}} |birth_place = [[Glenside, Pennsylvania|Glenside]], Pennsylvania, U.S. |death_date = {{death date and age|1979|7|1|1915|3|15}} |death_place = [[Coxsackie, New York|Coxsackie]], New York, U.S. |occupation = Actor |years_active = 1949–1979 }}

'''Richard Ward''' (March 15, 1915 – July 1, 1979) was an American [[actor]] on the stage, [[television]], and in [[film]]s, from 1949 until his death.<ref name=RWobit>{{cite news|agency=[[Associated Press]]|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NCgxAAAAIBAJ&pg=4315,1645553|title=Richard Ward: Played Grandpa Evans on TV's ''Good Times'', Was Real-Life Detective|newspaper=[[Toledo Blade]]|date=July 5, 1979|page=21|via=[[Google News]]}}</ref><ref name=RW@NYPL>{{cite web|url=http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/archivalcollections/pdf/wardrichard.pdf|title=Guide to Richard Ward Papers|publisher=New York Public Library|access-date=2012-11-22}}</ref>

Though best known through his television appearances late in life, both in [[sitcom]]s and [[police procedural]]s, 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]] in the 1972 production of ''[[Death of a Salesman]]'', staged in Baltimore's [[Center Stage (theater)|Center Stage]] (the first African American production of [[Arthur Miller]]'s signature opus, produced with the playwright's blessing).<ref name=RWobit/><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=4UIDAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Black+TV+Cook+Says+Role+is+Not+Degrading%22&pg=PA73 "Black TV Cook Says Role is Not Degrading"]. ''Jet''. December 11, 1975.</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Brenda |last=Murphy|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xW7QIhl5eWUC&q=1972+%22Richard+Ward%22+%22Death+of+a+Salesman%22&pg=PA179|title=Miller: Death of a Salesman (Plays in Production)|year=1995|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, UK|isbn=0-521-47865-0|page=179|chapter=Production Chronology}}</ref> Ward's own favorite among his theatrical vehicles was ''[[Ceremonies in Dark Old Men]]''.<ref>Treaster, Joseph B.: [https://www.nytimes.com/1979/07/04/archives/richard-ward-dies-stage-and-tv-actor-played-in-ceremonies-in-dark.html "Richard Ward Dies; Stage and TV Actor"]. ''The New York Times''. July 4, 1979.</ref>

==Life and career== Ward was born in Glenside, Pennsylvania on March 15, 1915. He worked as a New York City police detective for ten years before beginning his acting career.<ref name=RWobit />

An [[Actors Studio]] alumnus,<ref>{{cite book|first=David |last=Garfield|title=A Player's Place: The Story of the Actors Studio|url=https://archive.org/details/playersplacestor00garf|url-access=registration|year=1980|publisher=MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc.|location=New York|isbn=0-02-542650-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/playersplacestor00garf/page/280 280]|chapter=Appendix: Life Members of The Actors Studio as of 1980}}</ref> Ward belatedly made his television debut in 1950 on the ''[[Perry Como television and radio shows#Television shows|Perry Como Show]]'',<ref name=RW@NYPL/> later appearing on dramatic anthology series such as ''[[Playhouse 90]]'', ''[[Westinghouse Studio One|Studio One]]'', and ''[[Hallmark Hall of Fame]]'', before becoming a familiar face on seventies sitcoms like ''[[Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman]]'', ''[[All in the Family]]'' and ''[[The Jeffersons]]''.<ref name=RWobit/>

Ward made three guest appearances on ''[[Good Times]]'' as [[James Evans, Sr.|James's]] dad Henry (the name that James was known by on ''[[Maude (TV series)|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 Evans|Thelma]] at a 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 [[television pilot|pilot]] film for the [[police officer|cop]] show, ''[[Starsky & Hutch]]'', Ward played Captain Dobey, though in the series itself that role was played by [[Bernie Hamilton]]. Ward did appear as a different character in one episode in the final series, shortly before his death due to a heart attack. He was married to Peggy Ward.

==Filmography== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- |1957|| ''[[Carib Gold]]'' || Lechock || |- |rowspan=3| 1964|| ''[[The Cool World]]'' || Street Speaker || |- | ''[[Black Like Me (film)|Black Like Me]]'' | Burt Wilson | |- | ''[[Nothing But a Man]]'' |Mill Hand |- |1969|| ''[[The Learning Tree]]'' || Booker Savage || |- |1971|| ''[[Brother John (film)|Brother John]]'' || Frank || |- |1972|| ''[[Across 110th Street]]'' || Doc Johnson || |- |1973|| ''[[Cops and Robbers (1973 film)|Cops and Robbers]]'' || Paul Jones || |- | rowspan=3|1974 | ''[[For Pete's Sake (film)|For Pete's Sake]]'' || Bernie || |- | ''[[Petrocelli]]''||Charlie Bobo | |- | ''Sty of the Blind Pig'' |Blind Jordan | |- |1975|| ''[[Mandingo (film)|Mandingo]]'' || Agamemnon || |- |1976|| ''[[The Death Collector]]'' || Gunsmith || |- |1979|| ''[[The Jerk]]'' || Father || Posthumous release |- |1980|| ''[[Brubaker]]'' || Abraham Cook || Posthumous release (final film role) |}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{iobdb name|20339}} *{{IBDB name|64049}} *{{IMDb name|0911797}} *[http://archives.nypl.org/the/21270 Richard Ward papers, 1949–1980], held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, [[New York Public Library for the Performing Arts]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Richard}} [[Category:1915 births]] [[Category:1979 deaths]] [[Category:American male film actors]] [[Category:American male television actors]] [[Category:Male actors from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania]] [[Category:20th-century American male actors]] [[Category:People from Cheltenham, Pennsylvania]] [[Category:New York City Police Department officers]] [[Category:Actors Studio alumni]] [[Category:20th-century African-American male actors]]