Mitchell Ryan
The ‘Lethal Weapon’ actor is dead
US actor Mitchell Ryan has died.
© imago/Everett Collection
He was well known to fans of Torches in the Storm, Lethal Weapon and Dharma & Greg. Actor Mitchell Ryan has died.
US actor Mitchell Ryan (1934-2022) died of heart failure at his home in Los Angeles on Friday. This was shared by his stepdaughter Denise Freed the “Hollywood Reporter” with.
Mitchell Ryan is perhaps best known for his roles in The Storm (1985), Lethal Weapon (1987) and Dharma & Greg (1997-2002).
“Torches in the Storm”, “Lethal Weapon” and “Dharma & Greg”
In the first season of the hit US series about the American Civil War (1861-1865), Torches in the Storm, he played Tillet Main, the father of the main character Orry Main (Patrick Swayze, 1952-2009).
As retired heroin-smuggling general Peter McAllister, Mitchell Ryan was taken down by detectives Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson, 66) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover, 75) in ‘Lethal Weapon’ – the first film in the series.
Ryan later played Edward “Ed” Montgomery, Greg’s (Thomas Gibson, 59) rich, drunk father and proud Notre Dame graduate, in about 120 episodes of the ABC sitcom “Dharma & Greg” who often hangs out with Dharma’s (Jenna Elfman, 50) hippie father (Alan Rachins, 79).
He almost became Jean-Luc Picard
In an interview from 2018, Ryan said he almost landed the role of Jean-Luc Picard in the TV series ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ (1987-1994). “I was being considered pretty seriously until they came across this incredible British actor…Patrick Stewart [81]he said. “I don’t know how close I got to it, but I was told that I was really considered and that it looked good.” In 1989, he appeared on the series as Commander William’s feuding father Riker (Jonathan Frakes, 69) up.
Mitchell Ryan is survived by his stepdaughter, second wife (since 1998) Barbara, grandchildren Ashley, Jacqueline, Olivia, Kaila and Noah, daughter-in-law Elizabeth and sister-in-law Mary.
In 2021 he published his memoir Fall of a Sparrow.