Mitchell Ryan

Mitchell Ryan (January 11, 1934 – March 4, 2022) was an American actor. His six decades of television credits, he is known for playing Burke Devlin in the 1960s gothic soap opera Dark Shadows, and later for his co-starring role as Thomas Gibson's father Edward Montgomery on Dharma & Greg. He also played the villainous General Peter McAllister in the 1987 buddy cop action film Lethal Weapon.

Early life
Ryan was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. His father was a salesman and his mother was a writer. He served in the United States Navy during the Korean War.

Career
A life member of the Actors Studio, Ryan's Broadway theatre credits include Wait Until Dark, Medea, and The Price. His off-Broadway credits include Antony and Cleopatra (1963) and The Price (1979).

Ryan was an original cast member of the cult TV soap opera Dark Shadows, playing Burke Devlin until he was dismissed from the show in June 1967 due to his alcoholism,  and replaced by Anthony George.

In 1970, Ryan was in one episode of The High Chaparral as a character named Jelks, who was on the run from the law.

He appeared in an episode of Cannon, "Fool's Gold" in 1971, and in ABC's The Streets of San Francisco episode "The Unicorn". He portrayed the title character, Chase Reddick, on the crime drama Chase (1973–74).



In 1975, Ryan played in Barnaby Jones, in the episode titled "Counterfall". He portrayed the leading character, Dan Walling, on Executive Suite (1976–77) and played Blake Simmons in the drama Julie Farr, M.D. (1978–79).

Ryan portrayed Cooper Hawkins on the Western series The Chisholms (1980), Sam Garrett on King's Crossing (1982) Brennan Flannery on High Performance (1983), Edward Wyler on Hot Pursuit (1984), and Porter Tremont on 2000 Malibu Road (1992).

His other acting credits include the films Liar Liar; Magnum Force playing as Dirty Harry's ill-fated despondent best friend and fellow police officer, a motorcycle patrolman named Charlie McCoy; Lethal Weapon playing the key villain General Peter McAllister; Grosse Pointe Blank; Electra Glide in Blue; and Hot Shots! Part Deux, playing senator Grey Edwards. In 1985, he portrayed Tillet Main, the patriarch of the Main family in the first North and South miniseries. In 1991, he played Ellis Blake in the sixth season Matlock episode "The Foursome".

Ryan appeared in NBC's The A-Team; he played Ike Hagan, as Grant Everett in a two-part Silk Stalkings episode; and as Kyle Riker, the father of Commander William Riker, in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Icarus Factor"; Ryan had been considered for the part of series lead Captain Jean-Luc Picard. He also portrayed the roles of the abusive boyfriend of Blanche Devereaux, Rex Huntington, in The Golden Girls episode "The Bloom is off the Rose", and a police officer in a 1993 episode of NYPD Blue. The same year, Ryan was Dallas Shields in Renegade. He appeared in the 1983 episode of Hart to Hart 'Highland Fling'. In 1994, he appeared again in Hart to Hart in one of the made-for-TV movies, "Home Is Where the Hart Is". In 1995, he appeared in the films Judge Dredd and Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers as Dr. Terence Wynn (played by Robert Phalen in the original Halloween film).

He played the role of Greg's father, Edward Montgomery, on the comedy Dharma & Greg (1997–2002). The following year, Ryan voiced Highfather on Justice League.

He was the president of Screen Actors Guild Foundation.

Personal life
Mitch Ryan married Lynda Morse in 1972 and they had a son named Tim Ryan. He later married Barbara Albertine, and had five grandchildren. Ryan died of heart failure at his home in Los Angeles, California, on March 4, 2022, at the age of 88.

Filmography

 * 1958 Thunder Road as Jed Moultrie (uncredited)
 * 1961 The Naked City The Well Dressed Termite as Marty Minters
 * 1961 The Naked City Button in the Haystack as Overton
 * 1966–1967 Dark Shadows (TV Series) as Burke Devlin
 * 1970 Monte Walsh as "Shorty" Austin
 * 1971 My Old Man's Place as Sergeant Martin Flood
 * 1971 The Hunting Party as "Doc" Harrison
 * 1971 Chandler as Chuck Kincaid
 * 1972 The Honkers as Lowell
 * 1972 A Reflection of Fear as Inspector McKenna
 * 1973 High Plains Drifter as Dave Drake
 * 1973 The Friends of Eddie Coyle as Waters
 * 1973 Electra Glide in Blue as Detective Harvey Poole
 * 1973 Magnum Force as Officer Charlie McCoy
 * 1976 Midway as Rear Admiral Aubrey W. Fitch (uncredited)
 * 1976 Two-Minute Warning as The Priest
 * 1977 Christmas Miracle in Caufield, U.S.A. as Matthew Sullivan
 * 1981 Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story as Hugh Hefner
 * 1983 Hart to Hart ("Highland Fling") as Ramsey T. MacLaish
 * 1985 The A-Team as Ike Hagen
 * 1985 North and South (TV miniseries) as Tillet Main
 * 1986 Penalty Phase as Judge Donald Faulkner
 * 1987 Lethal Weapon as General Peter McCallister
 * 1989 Mission Impossible (1988 TV Series S1:E18 - Submarine) as Admiral Edgar Sheppard
 * 1989 Star Trek: The Next Generation (S2:E14 - The Icarus Factor) as Kyle Riker, father of Commander Will Riker
 * 1989 Winter People as Drury Campbell
 * 1989 Santa Barbara as Anthony Tonnell
 * 1990 L.A. Law (S5:E5 – Smoke Gets In Your Thighs) as Duncan Young
 * 1991 The Golden Girls (S6:E13 – The Bloom Is Off the Rose) as Rex
 * 1991 Murder, She Wrote (The List of Uri Lermintov) as Representative Arthur Prouty
 * 1991 In a Child's Name as Peter Chappell
 * 1992 Aces: Iron Eagle III as General Simms
 * 1993 The Opposite Sex and How to Live with Them as Kenneth Davenport
 * 1993 Hot Shots! Part Deux as Gray Edwards
 * 1994 Walker, Texas Ranger (S2:E17 - The Committee) as Judge Riley
 * 1994 Blue Sky as Ray Stevens
 * 1994 Speechless as Lloyd Wannamaker
 * 1995 Judge Dredd as Vartis Hammond
 * 1995 Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers as Dr. Terrence Wynn
 * 1996 Ed as Abe Woods
 * 1997 The Devil's Own as Chief Jim Kelly
 * 1997 Liar Liar as Mr. Allan
 * 1997 Grosse Pointe Blank as Mr. Bart Newberry
 * 1997 Dharma & Greg as Ed Montgomery
 * 1999 Making Contact as Hunter
 * 2005 Love for Rent as Doctor (uncredited)
 * 2009 Stakeout as Man In Car (TV Short)
 * 2021 Smartphone Theatre as Harry (TV Series) 1 episode
 * TBA Valley of Shadows as Kenton MacBride (pre-production)