Richard Reicheg Explained

Richard Reicheg
Birth Date:1937 5, mf=yes
Birth Place:U.S.
Education:B.A., M.A.
Alma Mater:Brooklyn College
Occupation:Actor, songwriter

Richard Reicheg (May 26, 1937 – July 30, 2021) was an American television, stage, and film actor, musician and a Grammy-nominated songwriter. His career spanned a period of over sixty years.

Reicheg wrote the song “For The Sake Of The Children” that is featured in the Robert Altman film Nashville[1] [2] and for which he received a Grammy nomination in 1975.

His songs have been recorded and performed by many top artists,[3] including The Persuasions, Maria Muldaur, Gary Wright, and Jay and the Americans. His song "Everybody's a Masterpiece" was recorded by Three Dog Night. Reicheg's "Looking for an Echo" was recorded by Kenny Vance,[4] The Persuasions (on their album Chirpin'), and by others. The song was also the musical theme of the Martin Davidson film of the same name. Film historian Jan Stewart has called Reicheg's song "For the Sake of the Children" an "ode to marital fidelity [that is] a delicious postmodern balancing act of send up and the real McCoy."

Early years

Reicheg was born and raised in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn in the shadow of Ebbets Field. After graduating from Erasmus Hall High School, he served in the U.S. Army, stationed in Germany from 1956 to 1958. Upon discharge, he attended Brooklyn College, received a B.A. and M.A. degree in speech and theater, and acted in college productions. There he learned to play guitar and joined the burgeoning folk music scene in Greenwich Village. In various folk groups and as a solo performer, he toured extensively, playing coffee houses, cabarets and clubs in the U.S. and Canada, including The Bitter End, Gerde's Folk City, The Blue Angel and The Troubadour. He was a featured performer at the 1964 New York World's Fair, and part of The American Hootenany Festival that toured colleges throughout the US. During those years he recorded for Laurie, 20th Century Fox (as Lenny and Dick) and Decca records (as Sunrise Highway).

Personal life

Prior to his death, Reicheg lived in Los Angeles, California with his wife Julie Payne. He died on July 30, 2021, at the age of 84.[5]

Filmography

Film

Title Role Director Year
Charlie Wilson's War Navy Buddy Mike Nichols
Tripper News Anchor David Arquette
Monkey Trouble Mr. Big's Henchman Franco Amurri
Oh, God! Book II Karl Gil Cates
First Family Agent Fowler Buck Henry
Dirty Business Albert (Lead) John McCauley
Delta Fox Howard Ferd Sebastian
Leprechaun III LuckyBrian Trenchard-Smith
Americathon Hebrab Terrorist Neil Israel

Television

Title Credit Year(s)
Betty White's Off Their Rockers Series Regular
Alias Co-Star
Days of Our Lives Recurring
High Incident Guest Star
The West Side Waltz MOW) Co-Star
Dream On Guest Star
Empty Nest (3) Guest Star
Beverly Hills 90210 Guest Star
The Golden Girls Guest Star
Beverly Hills Buntz Guest Star
Dallas Guest Star
Sledge Hammer! Guest Star
What a Country! Guest Star
Remington Steele (2) Guest Star
The A-Team Guest Star
Hardcastle & McCormick Guest Star
Faerie Tale Theatre Guest Star
Quincy, M.E. Guest Star
The White Shadow Guest Star
Married to the Mob (pilot) Recurring
Brooklyn Bridge Recurring
Hill Street Blues Guest Star
Long Days of Summer (MOW) Guest Star
Superior Court Guest Star
General Hospital Recurring
The Desperate Miles (MOW) Lead
Two Guys from MUCK (pilot) Recurring
Monster Manor (pilot) Recurring
Police Story (2) Guest Star
Newhart Guest Star
C.H.I.P.S. Guest Star
Rhoda Guest Star
The Odd Couple Guest Star
Young and the Restless Recurring
Kojak (2) Guest Star

Theater

Title Role Theater Year
Twilight of the Golds Walter Booth Theater, Broadway (Standby)
California Suite Marvin/Mort Drury Lane, Chicago
A Bedfull of Foreigners Karak Drury Lane, Union Plaza, Las Vegas
Chapter Two Leo Cherry County Playhouse, Michigan
Murder at the Howard Johnson's Mitch Cherry County Playhouse
A Thousand ClownsChuckles Arlington Park, Chicago
Barefoot in the Park Telephone Man Arlington Park (Joseph Jefferson Award)
The Odd Couple Speed/Roy Major Cities Tour
Room Service Binion Loretto Hilton, St. Louis
Little Murders Alfred Manitoba Theatre Center, Winnipeg
Gangster Planet Dad Met Theater, Los Angeles
At the Mat Albert Figtree Theater, Los Angeles
Prisoner of Venice Swede Zephyr Theatre, Los Angeles
Sophie and Willa Leonard Tiffany Theater, Los Angeles

References

  1. Book: The Nashville Chronicles: The Making of Robert Altman's Masterpiece . 9780879109813 . Stuart . Jan . January 2003.
  2. Book: A Cinema of Loneliness . 9780199910533 . Kolker . Robert . 2011-06-08.
  3. Web site: Richard Reicheg - Credits . AllMusic . 2013-07-06.
  4. Web site: Looking for an Echo - Kenny Vance & the Planotones . AllMusic . 2013-07-06.
  5. Web site: SAG-AFTRA Special Digital Issue 2022. January 26, 2022.