MovieChat Forums > L.A. Law (1986) Discussion > R.I.P. Richard Dysart 1929-2015

R.I.P. Richard Dysart 1929-2015

posted 9 years ago by falcon2484
6 replies | jump to latest

I (and many others, I'm sure) will always think of Richard as Leland McKenzie -- but he had a long and distinguished acting career apart from L.A. Law as well, playing in Pale Rider, Prophecy, Mask, The Falcon and the Snowman, The Day of the Locust, Hard Rain, John Carpenter's The Thing and Back to the Future Part III. More importantly, he was also a veteran of the Korean War. He passed away at his home in Santa Monica, CA, on April 5. Goodbye, Richard.

The Falcon flies

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] medic249a2 9 years ago

Very sad to hear of Richard's passing. He was a real class act, tough to beat. RIP Leland McKenzie.

[–] tightspotkilo 9 years ago

Which episode was it when Michele Greene's character Abby made a pass at Richard Dysart's character, Leland, and as I recall he turned her down basically because of the age difference? Anybody remember?

Get the facts first - you can distort them later!

[–] falcon2484 9 years ago

I'm afraid you might be confused. Abby never made a pass at Leland. You might be thinking of a character named Jennifer Kepler (Dana Sparks, who also played Vickie Gioberti Stavros on Falcon Crest), whose grandfather (played by Dan O'Herlihy of RoboCop and The Last Starfighter fame) was defended by Leland in an assault case at the end of Season Two. When that case was over, Jennifer (who was in her 20s) expressed a romantic interest in Leland, and the two of them started a relationship. It didn't last long, though; near the beginning of Season Three, Leland broke it off with her because of the age difference. There was a very funny scene at the beginning of "The Son Also Rises" where Jennifer walks into the conference room during the firm's morning meeting and drops her coat to reveal a very brief nightie, sits on Leland's lap and starts making out with him! Then Douglas calls out "Earth to Leland!" and we see that Leland is just daydreaming the whole thing.

There was also one episode in Season Six where Leland and Grace exchange a kiss outside the elevator. That one was kind of a Big-Lipped Alligator Moment; outside of that episode, the show never dealt with any kind of Leland/Grace romance or flirtation ever again.

The Falcon flies

[–] fiero-49251 8 years ago

I believe "The Thing" remake back in the 70's was the 1st time I saw Dysart act! Love that movie; played some kind of doctor! ;-/

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[–] ryan-kadlec 7 years ago

He'll always be Leland McKenzie, The Firm's leader on L.A. Law.