Richard Mulligan 1932-2000

Comic actor Richard Mulligan, who won Emmy awards for his roles in television sitcoms 'Soap' and 'Empty Nest,' has died at age 67 after a long fight against colon cancer, associates said Thursday. Mulligan's business manager Julie Miller said the actor died Tuesday, September 26 at his Los Angeles home.

When I was around 12-14 years old, Richard Mulligan was practically my favorite actor. At that time I was so enthralled with the TV show Soap, that I set out to tape every episode. After filling up five tapes, I quit. I thought Mulligan was hilarious and the best person on the show.

Around the same time I saw him as an escaped mental patient masquerading as a teacher in Teachers with Nick Nolte; the dire Scavenger Hunt with its "all-star cast"*; The Big Bus, a disaster movie spoof about an out of control bus; the ridiculous and terrible fantasy The Heavenly Kid; and four Blake Edwards films of varying quality: Trail of the Pink Panther, S.O.B., Micki and Maude and A Fine Mess.

Born: November 13, 1932, New York, New York. Mulligan was married and divorced four times. He had one son, James. Wives included the late actress Joan Hackett and porn queen Serina Robinson/Rachel Ryan. Mulligan was the brother of the relatively successful film director Robert Mulligan [The Man in the Moon (1991), Clara's Heart (1988), Same Time, Next Year (1978), Summer of '42 (1971), Inside Daisy Clover (1965), Baby the Rain Must Fall (1965), Love with the Proper Stranger (1963), To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), Fear Strikes Out (1957)], and had a small role in his Love with the Proper Stranger.

Films include:
A Fine Mess (1986) .... Wayne 'Turnip' Parragella
The Heavenly Kid (1985) .... Rafferty
Meatballs Part II (1984) .... Giddy
Micki + Maude (1984) .... Leo Brody
Teachers (1984) .... Herbert
Trail of the Pink Panther (1982) .... Clouseau Sr.
S.O.B. (1981) .... Felix Farmer
Scavenger Hunt (1979) .... Marvin Dummitz
The Big Bus (1976) .... Claude Crane
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (1973) .... Mr. Kincaid
Irish Whiskey Rebellion (1972)
Little Big Man (1970) .... General George Armstrong Custer
The Undefeated (1969) .... Dan Morse
The Group (1966) .... Dick Brown
Love with the Proper Stranger (1963) .... Louie

Notable TV appearances:
"Empty Nest", Lincoln (1988) (TV), Babes in Toyland (1986) (TV), Jealousy (1984) (TV), "Reggie", Malibu (1983) (TV), "Soap", Harvey (1972) (TV), "John Larroquette Show, The", "Nurses", "Golden Girls, The", "Highway to Heaven", "Twilight Zone, The", "Hunter", "Charlie's Angels", "Little House on the Prairie", "Matt Helm", "Partridge Family, The", "Bonanza", "I Dream of Jeannie", "Gunsmoke", "Rat Patrol, The"

*Richard Benjamin, James Coco, Scatman Crothers, Ruth Gordon, Cloris Leachman, Cleavon Little, Roddy McDowall, Robert Morley, Tony Randall, Dirk Benedict, Willie Aames, Stephanie Faracy, Stephen Furst, Richard Masur, Meat Loaf, Pat McCormick, Vincent Price, Avery Schreiber, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Liz Torres and Stuart Pankin as Duane. Any avid TV watchers of the early 80s know these people and know how ridiculous a film must be for it to star this ensemble cast.