Who is Richard Masur?
American actor Richard Masur was born in New York City USA, on 20 November 1948, meaning that his zodiac sign’s Scorpio. He’s had roles in close to 150 movies and TV series, and is probably still best known for his playing of Clark in the evergreen 1982 mystery science fiction horror movie “The Thing”, directed by John Carpenter, and which starred Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley and Keith David. It follows a shape-shifting alien which has attacked a research team in Antarctica, and the movie was nominated for three awards.
Education and early life
Richard was raised alongside his sister Judith Masur in New York City, by their father Jesse Masur who was a pharmacist, and mother Claire Masur who was a high school counselor.
Richard began appearing in school plays when he was nine years old, and continued acting upon enrolling at Roosevelt High School in 1963; he was interested in several other activities, as he enjoyed playing football, running track and practicing creative writing.
Upon matriculating in 1967, he enrolled at The Yale School of Drama, from which he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in 1971; the following three years saw him focused on appearing in theatre plays, prior to launching his career on TV.
Roles in TV series
Richard’s debut TV series role was his playing of George in the 1974 episode “Gloria’s Boyfriend” of the comedy “All in the Family”, and he gained recognition in the following year, with his portrayal of the lead character Clifford Ainsley in the comedy “Hot I Baltimore”, which also starred James Cromwell and Conchata Ferrell, and follows a group of people working at an old hotel.
The remainder of the ‘70s saw Richard appear in an episode or two of the war comedy “M*A*S*H”, the crime comedy “Switch” and the comedy “Doc”.
In 1984, he played Jack Willow in the musical action “Empire”, created by Lawrence J. Cohen, and which starred Dennis Dugan, Patrick Macnee and Maureen Arthur; it follows Ben Christian who’s working at Empire Industries. The ‘80s also saw Richard play Trent Tinker in the 1985 episode “The Amazing Falsworth” of the adventure comedy “Amazing Stories”, and Carleton Davis in the 1987 episode “Bride of Boogedy” of the family adventure “The Magical World of Disney”.
What marked the ‘90s for him was probably his playing of Ed Lawson in six episodes (1994-1995) of the hit family crime drama “Picket Fences”, which David E. Kelley created, and which starred Lauren Holly, Tom Skerritt and Kathy Baker. It follows the life of an aging sheriff, the series aired from 1992 to 1996, and won 44 of its 103 award nominations.
Richard had only a couple of roles in the early 2000s, in series such as the romantic drama “Felicity”, the crime mystery “The Practice”, and the romantic mystery “All My Children”.
In 2015 and 2016, he portrayed Geoffrey Solomon in the crime mystery “The Good Wife”, created by Robert King and Michelle King, and which starred Josh Charles, Chris Noth and Julianna Margulies. It follows Alicia Florrick whose former state’s attorney husband’s been sent to jail following a corruption and sex scandal, and who now has to take care of her family all by herself; the series aired from 2009 to 2016, and won 36 of its 250 award nominations.
Richard’s three most recent TV series roles have been in the 2021 episode “Hall of Mooms” of the short animated adventure “Summer Camp Island” (voice role), the 2021 episode “A New Lease on Death” of the crime action adventure “Magnum P. I.” and the 2022 episode “Frontotemporal” of the crime comedy “Bull”.
Roles in movies
Richard made his debut film appearance in the 1975 crime comedy “Whiffs”, and the remainder of the decade saw him appear in the 1976 romantic drama “Bittersweet Love”, the 1977 romantic sports comedy “Semi-Tough”, and the 1979 biographical action adventure “Mr. Horn”.
He gained recognition in 1983, with his portrayal of Steven Houston in the crime comedy “Risky Business”, written and directed by Paul Brickman, and which starred Tom Cruise, Rebecca De Mornay and Joe Pantoliano. It follows a teenager from Chicago, Illinois who’s trying to have fun now that his parents are away; the film was nominated for three awards. Richard could then have been seen appearing in the 1985 drama “Obsessed with a Married Woman”, the 1986 biographical drama “The George McKenna Story”, and the 1989 drama “Settle the Score”.
The year 1991 saw him play Phill Sultenfuss in the 1991 family comedy “My Girl”, directed by Howard Zieff, and which starred Anna Chlumsky, Macaulay Culkin and Dan Aykroyd. It tells the story of a 12-year-old girl and her friendship with a strange boy, and the movie won two of its seven award nominations. Some of Richard’s notable performances in the remainder of the decade were in the 1992 comedy “Encino Man”, the 1995 war drama “Hiroshima”, and the 1999 sports comedy “Play It to the Bone”.
He had only a couple of film roles in the 2000s, with the most popular amongst these having perhaps been the 2008 comedy “Vote and Die: Liszt for President”; it starred Stephen C. Bradbury and Yancy Butler, and follows a billionaire who’s running for president, while his slogan is ‘Kill Everyone Now!’
Richard’s most recent film roles have been in the 2019 comedy “Hudson”, the 2020 comedy “Before/During/After” and the 2021 short drama “Frankie”.
Other credits
Richard wrote and directed the 1986 short romantic movie “Love Struck”, and then went on to direct an episode of the sports comedy “The Slap Maxwell Story”, the family comedy “The Wonder Years”, and the family crime drama “Picket Fences”.
He’s been featured in many documentary movies, including the 1993 “The Last Party”, the 1995 “The Making of ‘Forget Paris”, and the 2017 “Winner Takes All with Richard Masur”.
Awards and nominations
Richard and his colleagues won a 2019 Phoenix Film Festival Award for Best Ensemble Cast, for their performance in “Hudson”.
He was also nominated for a 1979 The Stinkers Bad Movie Award for Worst Supporting Actor, for “Hanover Street”, a 1985 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special for “The Burning Bed”, and a 1990 Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Shows – Daytime, for “ABC Afterschool Specials”.
Love life and wife
Richard has married twice. His first wife was American producer and costume designer Fredda Weiss, who’s probably known best for producing the 1988 action crime adventure movie “Shoot to Kill”; she was nominated for a 1987 Oscar for Best Short Film, Live Action for “Love Struck”. Richard and Fredda exchanged vows on 24 September 1976, and divorced on 6 July 2004.
He married his second wife, American licensed professional counselor and therapist Eileen Henry on 7 August 2004, and they’ve since been together; it’s believed that they’ve agreed not to have children because of their age.
Richard hasn’t spoken of other women whom he’s dated, and he’s married to his second wife Eileen Henry as of December 2022, and doesn’t have children.
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Interesting facts and hobbies
Richard was the president of Screen Actors Guild (SAG) from 1995 to 1999, serving two 2-year terms; his wife Eileen’s today the branch president of SAG New York.
Richard’s today sitting on the board of both The Creative Coalition and The Hollywood Policy Center.
He enjoys being active on Instagram, but is only followed by just over 600 people; some of his fans have claimed that Richard’s responded to most of their messages, and is a highly friendly and sociable man.
He’s leading a healthy lifestyle as he doesn’t eat fast or junk food, and exercises on a daily basis; for nearly 10 years now, Richard’s been deeply involved in the US national health plan.
Some of his favorite actors are Keanu Reeves, Morgan Freeman and Tom Hanks, and his favorite movies include “Replicas”, “Siberia” and the trilogy “The Matrix”.
Height, weight and wealth
Richard’s age is 74. He has blue eyes and gray hair, weighs around 180lbs (82kgs) and is 6ft 1in (1.85m) tall.
Richard’s net worth’s been estimated at over $2 million, as of December 2022.
