Veteran character actor Peter Mark Richman, whose myriad TV credits included Dynasty, Three’s Company and Santa Barbara, died on Thursday of natural causes. He was 93.
Born in Philadelphia and a graduate of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, Richman first pursued acting on the New York stage as a member of the Actors Studio. His Broadway credits included A Hatful of Rain, Masquerade and a 400-plus performance run as Jerry in Edward Albee’s original production of The Zoo Story.
In 1961, he headlined the NBC crime drama Cain’s Hundred. From there, he popped up on any number of series including The Fugitive, Outer Limits, Gunsmoke and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. He then had arcs on the ABC police drama Longstreet, The F.B.I. and Electra Woman and Dyna Girl (where he played Pharaoh).
His many other TV credits, from there on, included Three’s Company (as Chrissy’s clergyman dad), Santa Barbara (as C.C. Capwell), the OG Dynasty (as legal eagle Andrew Laird), Star Trek: TNG and Beverly Hills, 90210 (as Stuart Carson’s business titan father).
Richman’s film credits, meanwhile, included The Naked Gun 2-1/2 and Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan.
As a playwright, several of his one-act plays were produced by ANTA and the Actors Studio, while his acclaimed one-man play, 4 Faces, was made into a film in which he starred.
In 1990, the Motion Picture and Television Fund awarded Richman the Silver Medallion to him for outstanding humanitarian achievement. That same year he was honored with the Sybil Brand Humanitarian Award from the Jeffrey Foundation.
Richman is survived by his wife of 67 years, Helen, five children, and six grandchildren.
