Richard Kline Explained

Richard Kline
Birth Date:29 April 1944
Birth Place:Queens, New York City, U.S.
Occupation:Actor, director
Yearsactive:1971–present

Richard Kline (born April 29, 1944) is an American actor and television director. His roles include Larry Dallas on the sitcom Three's Company, Richie in the later seasons of It's a Living and Jeff Beznick in Noah Knows Best.

Early life

Kline was born on April 29, 1944[1] in New York City.[2] He was raised in Queens by parents who practiced Reform Judaism.[3] He attended Queens College and has a Master of Fine Arts degree in theater from Northwestern University. After graduation, he joined the United States Army and served in Vietnam during the Vietnam War as a lieutenant.[4]

Career

Kline became involved in theater and made his professional debut in 1971 as part of the Lincoln Center Repertory Company. Regional theater productions during this period included Chemin de Fer (in Chicago with actor Dennis Franz), Death of a Salesman, and Love's Labour's Lost. A classically trained singer, Kline made his Broadway career debut in the 1989 musical City of Angels.

On Three's Company, Kline played Larry Dallas, a sleezy playboy neighbor, used car salesman, and best friend to John Ritter's Jack Tripper.[1] Kline appeared in 110 episodes of Three's Company from 1977 to 1984, also reprised the character in the spin-off shows The Ropers (1979) and Three's a Crowd (1985). Larry has the distinction of being the only other character besides Jack Tripper to appear on Three's Company and both of its spin-offs.

In addition to his television and big screen appearances, Kline has hosted two game show pilots, Jumble in 1988 and To Tell the Truth in 1990. The show's rights were then sold to NBC with Gordon Elliott, then Lynn Swann and Alex Trebek later hosting. Kline's TTTT pilot did air on the East Coast as a mistake on September 3, 1990, the day the show debuted. He also subbed for Charles Nelson Reilly as a guest panelist on Sweethearts for a week of shows in December 1988. His game show celebrity appearances included both The $25,000 Pyramid and The $100,000 Pyramid, Super Password, and multiple appearances on the Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour. Kline told SitcomsOnline.com he would like to compete on Jeopardy!, joking, "but I'm afraid I would take all their money!"[5]

In February 2010, he was cast as the Wizard in the first national tour of Wicked.[6]

Kline was seen next in October 2011 in It Shoulda Been You, directed by David Hyde Pierce and starring Tyne Daly.[5] In 2016, Kline appeared in a movie directed by and starring Mike Birbiglia called Don't Think Twice.

Kline reunited with Three's Company cast members Joyce DeWitt, Jenilee Harrison and Priscilla Barnes in September 2016 at "The Hollywood Show" in suburban Chicago, an autograph and memorabilia event, meeting fans and signing autographs.[7]

Kline played Kid Twist in the Paper Mill Playhouse world premiere production of The Sting starring Harry Connick Jr. which ran April 8–29, 2018.[8] In December 2018, he joined the national tour of the musical Waitress through August 2019.[9] He reprised the role in the Broadway cast in summer 2019.[10]

Selected filmography

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Lee . Nick . Whatever Happened To Richard Kline aka Larry From 'Three's Company'? (2022 Update). Ned Hardy. en-US. live. April 2, 2022. May 17, 2023. July 5, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220705153024/https://nedhardy.com/2022/04/02/richard-kline/.
  2. http://www.filmreference.com/film/92/Richard-Kline.html Richard Kline profile
  3. News: Rackham. Anne. January 27, 2013. Richard Kline gets back to his Jewish roots; but first, Fagin. https://archive.today/20130127230022/http://www.jewishaz.com/jewishnews/970905/kline.shtml. January 27, 2013. Jewish News of Greater Phoenix. July 22, 2020.
  4. Web site: Kline, Richard 1944–. Encyclopedia.com. en-US. live. 2019. March 16, 2022. January 8, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220108071301/https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/kline-richard-1944.
  5. Web site: Seven Questions with Richard Kline of Three's Company; NBC Fall 2011 Premiere Dates. Sitcomsonline.com. 5 December 2014.
  6. Spears, Steve (February 4, 2010). "'Wicked' returns to Tampa with Richard Kline of TV's 'Three's Company' as the Wizard". . Tampa Bay Times.
  7. Web site: 'The Hollywood Show' Autograph Event. Book Signing Central. July 22, 2020.
  8. News: Harry Connick Jr.-Led The Sting Musical Opens April 8 at the Paper Mill Playhouse. Gans. Andrew. April 8, 2018. Playbill. July 22, 2020.
  9. News: 'Three's Company' star part of 'Waitress' musical coming to Memphis. John. Beifuss. The Commercial Appeal. Memphis. January 11, 2019.
  10. News: Richard Kline Joins Broadway Company of Waitress. July 24, 2019. McPhee. Ryan. Playbill. July 22, 2020.

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