Richard Ward (actor)

{{short description|American actor}}

{{More citations needed|date=February 2013}}

{{Infobox person

|name = Richard Ward

| image = Cropped_Photo_of_Richard_Ward.jpg

| caption =

|birth_date = {{birth date|1915|3|15}}

|birth_place = Glenside, Pennsylvania, U.S.

|death_date = {{death date and age|1979|7|1|1915|3|15}}

|death_place = Coxsackie, New York, U.S.

|occupation = Actor

|years_active = 1949–1979

}}

Richard Ward (March 15, 1915 – July 1, 1979) was an American actor on the stage, television, and in films, from 1949 until his death.{{cite news|agency=Associated Press|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NCgxAAAAIBAJ&pg=4315,1645553|title=Richard Ward: Played Grandpa Evans on TV's Good Times, Was Real-Life Detective|newspaper=Toledo Blade|date=July 5, 1979|page=21|via=Google News}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/archivalcollections/pdf/wardrichard.pdf|title=Guide to Richard Ward Papers|publisher=New York Public Library|access-date=2012-11-22}}

Though best known through his television appearances late in life, both in sitcoms and police procedurals, Ward also had an extensive film resume and a distinguished stage career, one of the highlights of the latter being his portrayal of Willy Loman in the 1972 production of Death of a Salesman, staged in Baltimore's Center Stage (the first African American production of Arthur Miller's signature opus, produced with the playwright's blessing).[https://books.google.com/books?id=4UIDAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Black+TV+Cook+Says+Role+is+Not+Degrading%22&pg=PA73 "Black TV Cook Says Role is Not Degrading"]. Jet. December 11, 1975.{{cite book|first=Brenda |last=Murphy|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xW7QIhl5eWUC&q=1972+%22Richard+Ward%22+%22Death+of+a+Salesman%22&pg=PA179|title=Miller: Death of a Salesman (Plays in Production)|year=1995|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, UK|isbn=0-521-47865-0|page=179|chapter=Production Chronology}} Ward's own favorite among his theatrical vehicles was Ceremonies in Dark Old Men.Treaster, Joseph B.: [https://www.nytimes.com/1979/07/04/archives/richard-ward-dies-stage-and-tv-actor-played-in-ceremonies-in-dark.html "Richard Ward Dies; Stage and TV Actor"]. The New York Times. July 4, 1979.