| Birth Name: | Benjamin Norman Schultz |
| Birth Date: | 8 February 1926 |
| Birth Place: | Astoria, Queens[1] |
| Death Place: | Englewood, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Children: | 2 |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Years Active: | 1963–2014 |
Benjamin Norman Schultz (February 8, 1926 – August 22, 2020),[2] known professionally as Allan Rich, was an American character actor.
Rich was born to a Jewish family in Astoria, Queens, and his family moved to the Bronx when he was 6.[3]
Rich began his acting career when he was nine years old.[4] He appeared in the Broadway productions I'll Take the High Road (1943), Career Angel (1944), Darkness at Noon (1951), and The Emperor's Clothes (1953).[5] In 1948, Rich played the title role in a production of Ben Jonson's Volpone in Yellow Springs, Ohio.[6]
Beginning in 1979, Rich was distributor and publisher of Hollywood portraits made by George Hurrell.
Rich was one of the many alleged communist sympathizers blacklisted in the 1950s Hollywood blacklist.[7] He married Elaine in 1951, who would go on to be a personal manager to a number of actors after the couple moved to Los Angeles in 1976. The couple had two children together. Elaine Rich died in 2015, aged 81.[8]
Rich spent the last five years of his life as a resident at the Lillian Booth Actors Home, run by the Actors Fund of America. He died from progressive dementia in Englewood, New Jersey, in August 2020, at the age of 94.[9] [10]
Rich was the co-founder of non-profit organization We Care About Kids, which produces educational short films for middle and high school youths.[11]
| Film | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
| 1973 | Serpico | Dist. Atty. Herman Tauber | ||
| 1974 | The Gambler | Bernie | ||
| 1975 | The Happy Hooker | Desk Sergeant | ||
| 1978 | Uncle Joe Shannon | Dr. Clark | ||
| 1979 | Voices | Montrose Meier | ||
| The Frisco Kid | Mr. Bialik | |||
| The Seekers | General Wayne | |||
| 1980 | Hero at Large | Marty Fields | ||
| Leo and Loree | Jarvis | |||
| 1982 | Eating Raoul | Nazi | ||
| The Entity | Dr. Walcott | |||
| Frances | Mr. Bebe | |||
| 1984 | Kidco | Jim Clark | ||
| 1985 | Rocky IV | Boxing Commissioner | Scene deleted | |
| 1986 | Bad Guys | Luigi Constantine | ||
| 1989 | Another Chance | J.R. Jacobs | ||
| Checking Out | Dr. Haskell | |||
| 1990 | Betsy's Wedding | Nate Tobias | ||
| 1991 | Allan Neyman | |||
| 1994 | Quiz Show | Robert Kintner | ||
| Disclosure | Ben Heller | |||
| 1995 | Two Much | Reverend Larrabee | ||
| 1996 | Jack | Dr. Benfante | ||
| The Rich Man's Wife | Bill Adolphe | |||
| 1997 | Out to Sea | Sebastian | ||
| Amistad | Judge Juttson | |||
| 1998 | A League of Old Men | Judge | Also director | |
| Malaika | Sal's Pizza Customer | |||
| 1999 | The Dogwalker | |||
| 2001 | Skippy | Gordan Gates | ||
| 2002 | The Burial Society | Hy Leibowicz | ||
| 2003 | Intoxicating | Michael Reilly | ||
| 2006 | The Alibi | Klump | ||
| 2007 | Man in the Chair | Speed | ||
| The Memory Thief | Zvi | |||
| Harrison | ||||
| My Sexiest Year | Papa | |||
| 2008 | The Last Word | Francis | ||
| 2013 | Rain from Stars | Old John | ||
| 2014 | Wish I Was Here | Klump | Final film role | |
| Television | ||||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
| 1977 | The San Pedro Beach Bums | Captain Rossinki | Episode: "The Bums vs. the Reds" | |
| 1977 | Hawaii Five-O | Lou Marvin | Episode: "Practical Jokes Can Kill You" | |
| 1979 | Happy Days | Professor Thomas | Episode: "Potsie Quits School" | |
| 1979 | The Seekers | Gen. "Mad Anthony" Wayne | 2 episodes | |
| 1979 | Barney Miller | Mr. Ramson, the furrier | Episode: "Voice Analyzer" | |
| 1980 | CHiPs | Judge Towers | Episode: "Jailbirds" | |
| 1981–1983 | Hill Street Blues | Judge Maurice Schiller | 4 episodes | |
| 1981 | Barney Miller | Lenord the theatre producer | Episode: "Resignation" | |
| 1983 | Magnum, P.I. | Coluga | Episode: "From Moscow to Maui" | |
| 1986 | Life With Lucy | The Judge | Episode: "Lucy, Leagle Beagle" | |
| 1987 | The Golden Girls | Alexi | Episode: "Letter to Gorbachev" | |
| 1995 | The Nanny | Judge | Episode: "The Party's Over" | |
| 1998 | The New Batman Adventures | Edward "King" Barlowe | Voice, episode: "Joker's Millions" | |
| 2000–2001 | Judging Amy | Jim Southam | 4 episodes | |
| 2004 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Solly | Season 4 | |
| 2010 | House M.D. | Sidney | Episode: "Selfish" |