He Started as Pharmacist, Ended Up in 500 TV Episodes

Character actor Peter Mark Richman dies at 93
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 15, 2021 12:25 PM CST
He Started as Pharmacist, Ended Up in 500 TV Episodes
In this Nov. 1, 2015, file photo, Peter Mark Richman arrives at the Hollywood Film Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif.   (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

Peter Mark Richman, a character actor who appeared in hundreds of television episodes and had recurring roles on Three's Company and Beverly Hills 90210, has died. He was 93. Richman died Thursday at his home in the Woodland Hills area of Los Angeles of natural causes, publicist Harlan Boll announced, per the AP. Born in Philadelphia, Richman worked as a pharmacist before he turned to acting. He joined the Actors Studio and in 1953 starred on stage in the play End as a Man. He appeared on Broadway in A Hatful of Rain and Masquerade. He also portrayed Jerry in more than 400 New York performances of Edward Albee's The Zoo Story. His movies included 1958's The Black Orchid with Sophia Loren, The Strange One, The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear and Friday the 13th, Part 8.

But he was best known for his TV work, appearing in more than 500 episodes of various shows over a decades-long career, from Bonanza and The Fugitive to Star Trek: The Next Generation. He starred as lawyer Nick Cain in the short-lived 1960's NBC series Cain's Hundred and had recurring roles as an attorney on the 1980s hit Dynasty and the 1970s show Longstreet. He was also Suzanne Somers' father, the Rev. Luther Snow, on Three's Company, appeared as Lawrence Carson on Beverly Hills 90210, and was CC Capwell for nearly 30 episodes of Santa Barbara. Richman also wrote plays, including the acclaimed 4 Faces, a novel, short stories, and an autobiography. In 1990, he received the Silver Medallion from the Motion Picture & Television Fund for outstanding humanitarian achievement. He's survived by his wife, Helen, five children, and six grandchildren.

(More obituary stories.)

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