Richard Lawson is an American actor who has starred in movies and on television. He is perhaps best known for his roles in science fiction—he portrayed Ryan in the 1982 hit movie Poltergeist, and Dr. Ben Taylor in the hit 1983 NBC miniseries V.
Tina Knowles (m. 2015), Denise Gordy (m. 1978–1989)
Children
Bianca Lawson
Nicknames
Rickey Lee Lawson , Rick Lawson
Movies
Poltergeist, For Colored Girls, Scream Blacula Scream, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Streets of Fire, Blue Hill Avenue, Sugar Hill, The Jericho Mile, Wag the Dog, Black Fist, I'm Through with White Girls, Christmas at Water's Edge, The Main Event, From Zero to I Love You, Black Listed, Stick, Back...
TV Shows
The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, V, Chicago Story
Star Sign
Pisces
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Quote
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I'm an actor. It's no struggle for me any more than it would be for a marathon champion to train by running 5 to 10 miles a day. I've accepted the process of what it takes to be an artist. Sure, I've been out of work, I've been without money, but it's not a struggle. It's what I do.
Served in the Vietnam War as a combat medic and was awarded the Purple Heart.
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He graduated from Hayward High School in 1965 and went to Riverside City College for a year and a half before he dropped out and was drafted into the Army three months later.
Lawson has won two L.A. Drama Critics Awards: one for the play "Streamers" (1977), and another for "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" (1987). In addition, he won a NAACP Image Award for his role on the TV soap opera All My Children (1970) in 1992.
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After serving a year's duty in Vietnam, he went to Chabot Junior College in Hayward, California and joined the debate team with the intention of pursuing law. His voice was so strong, resonant and authoritative that he decided to become an actor instead.
Survived the crash of USAir flight 405 on March 22, 1992. The plane, which took off from New York's LaGuardia Airport crashed into the waters of the Long Island Sound shortly after take-off.
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He has been a master scene study teacher and director at The Beverly Hills Playhouse with Milton Katselas for over 30 years. In addition, he owns and operates the Richard Lawson Studios (RLS). RLS offers several classes and professional development workshops, including: scene study, on-camera class, audition techniques, filmmaking, and business administration.