# Richard Lawson (actor)

Rickey Lee Lawson (born March 7, 1947) is an American actor who has starred in movies and on television. He is perhaps best known for his roles in genre films; he portrayed Ryan in the 1982 film Poltergeist, and Dr. Ben Taylor in the 1983 NBC miniseries V.

## Early life and career

Born Rickey Lee Lawson in Loma Linda, California, Lawson was drafted into the United States Army and became a medic. He served 21 months in Vietnam during the Vietnam War and was wounded in action. After completing his military duty, he embarked on an acting career. His first feature film role (uncredited) was that of a gay man targeted for murder in the 1971 movie Dirty Harry. In 1973, he played Willis in Scream Blacula Scream. His other well known roles include the 1979 movie The Main Event, and the 1984 drama Streets of Fire, where he played Officer Ed Price. Lawson's first ongoing starring role in a television series was in Australian drama Hotel Story in 1977, however, that series was cancelled before the first episode aired. He later starred in the 1980s series Chicago Story; he took the ongoing role of Nick Kimball on the prime time soap opera Dynasty from 1986 to 1987, appeared in The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd as Detective Nathaniel Hawthorne from 1989 to 1991, and was in the daytime soap opera All My Children as Lucas Barnes from 1992 to 1994. Lawson has made many guest appearances on television, including roles on Kojak, Get Christie Love!, Sister, Sister, Soul Food, The Bernie Mac Show, The Division, All in the Family and Strong Medicine.

## Personal life

Lawson was married to his first wife, actress Denise Gordy, from New Year's Eve 1978 until 1989. They have one daughter, actress Bianca Lawson, born in 1979. Lawson also has a son named Ricky, born in 1992. On March 22, 1992, Lawson survived the USAir Flight 405 plane crash, after take-off from LaGuardia Airport, in Queens, New York City. During the summer of 2013, he began dating Tina Knowles, fashion designer and mother of singers Beyoncé and Solange Knowles. Lawson and Knowles had known each other for over 30 years, as she was the best friend of his late sister. As a result, Lawson stated that he had "always admired her from afar and up close too." The couple married on April 12, 2015. Knowles filed for divorce in July 2023.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1971 | Dirty Harry | Homosexual | |
| 1973 | Scream Blacula Scream | Willis Daniels | |
| 1973 | Fox Style | Little Henry | |
| 1974 | Sugar Hill | Langston Valentine | |
| 1974 | Bogard | Leroy Fisk | |
| 1975 | Crossfire | Officer Ken Dillard | TV movie |
| 1977 | Audrey Rose | Policeman #1 | |
| 1978 | Coming Home | Pat | |
| 1979 | Charleston | James Harris | TV movie |
| 1979 | The Jericho Mile | R.C. Stiles | TV movie |
| 1979 | Buffalo Soldiers | Caleb Holiday | TV movie |
| 1979 | The Main Event | Hector Mantilla | |
| 1980 | The Golden Moment: An Olympic Love Story | Gene Davis | TV movie |
| 1982 | Poltergeist | Ryan | |
| 1982 | Leadfoot | Officer Venchek | TV movie |
| 1984 | Streets of Fire | Officer Ed Price | |
| 1985 | Stick | Cornell | |
| 1986 | Under the Influence | Dr. Duran | TV movie |
| 1986 | Johnnie Mae Gibson: FBI | Adam Prentice | TV movie |
| 1989 | The Forgotten | Sergeant Frank 'Doc' McDermott | TV movie |
| 1989 | Double Your Pleasure | Dash | TV movie |
| 1997 | Wag the Dog | CIA Agent | |
| 1998 | How Stella Got Her Groove Back | Jack | |
| 1999 | Justice | Gus | TV movie |
| 1999 | Jackie's Back | Milkman Summers (Jackie's Ex-Husband #1) | TV movie |
| 2000 | Mars and Beyond | Mission Flight Director Maynard Nixon | Short |
| 2001 | Blue Hill Avenue | Uncle Rob | |
| 2003 | Black Listed | Agent Gordon | Video |
| 2003 | Maniac Magee | Mr. Beale | TV movie |
| 2003 | Out of the Rain | Donald | |
| 2004 | Christmas at Water's Edge | Mr. Turner | TV movie |
| 2005 | Guess Who | Marcus | |
| 2006 | The Last Stand | Winston | |
| 2007 | I'm Through with White Girls | James Evans | |
| 2008 | Love for Sale | Uncle Mac | |
| 2009 | The Business of Show | Special Thanks | Short |
| 2010 | For Colored Girls | Frank | |
| 2010 | Massacre | Rich Cannon | |
| 2015 | Royal Family Thanksgiving | Leighton Royal | TV movie |
| 2015 | Royal Family Christmas | Leighton Royal | TV movie |
| 2017 | Searching for Neverland | Joe Jackson | TV movie |
| 2019 | From Zero to I Love You | Ron Logsdon | |
| 2019 | Always a Bridesmaid | Carlton Blakeston Sr | |
| 2020 | Old Dog | Curtis Winters | Short |
| 2021 | The Corner Store | Marvin | Short |
| 2021 | North Hollywood | Adolf's Dad | |
| 2021 | Not Alone | Dr. James Clay | |
| 2021 | A Holiday Chance | Garvin | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1973 | Shaft | Don Lewis | Episode: "The Enforcers" |
| 1973 | Kojak | 1st Suspect | Episode: "One for the Morgue" |
| 1974 | Get Christie Love! | Rick Allen | Episode: "Fatal Image" |
| 1975 | The Streets of San Francisco | Eddie Hill | Episode: "Endgame" |
| 1975 | Medical Center | Andy Willis | Episode: "Survivors" |
| 1976 | Bert D'Angelo/Superstar | Hutchins | Episode: "The Brown Horse Connection" |
| 1976 | Most Wanted | Carl Webster | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1977 | Police Woman | Skeet | Episode: "Once a Snitch" |
| 1977 | All in the Family | Angry Black Man | Episode: "Mike the Pacifist" |
| 1977 | The Fantastic Journey | Barker | Episode: "Funhouse" |
| 1977–78 | Hotel Story | | Main cast |
| 1978 | Good Times | Raymond | Episode: "I Had a Dream" |
| 1978 | Julie Farr, M.D. | Bert Rollins | Episode: "Old Friends" |
| 1978 | What Really Happened to the Class of '65? | Lt. Sawyer | Episode: "Reunion in Terror" |
| 1981 | The White Shadow | David Mackey | Episode: "Burnout" |
| 1982 | T. J. Hooker | Officer David McNeil | Episode: "The Protectors" |
| 1982 | Chicago Story | Det. O.Z. Tate | Main cast |
| 1983 | V | Dr. Ben Taylor | Miniseries |
| 1983 | Hardcastle and McCormick | Kid Calico | Episode: "The Boxer" |
| 1984 | Magnum, P.I. | Gerald Calvin | Episode: "Under World" |
| 1985 | St. Elsewhere | The Messiah | Episode: "Cheers" |
| 1985 | Remington Steele | Monroe Henderson | Episode: "Premium Steele" |
| 1986 | Comedy Factory | Dr. Julius Pepper | Episode: "The Faculty" |
| 1986–87 | Dynasty | Nick Kimball | Recurring cast: Season 7 |
| 1987 | Amen | Dr. Jonathan Wallace | Episode: "Thelma's Birthday" |
| 1988 | CBS Summer Playhouse | Nick Scott | Episode: "Silent Whisper" |
| 1988 | Wiseguy | Thurman McGill | Episode: "Last of the True Believers" |
| 1988 | 227 | Raymond Blake | Episode: "A Yen for Lester" |
| 1988–91 | The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd | Det. Nathaniel Hawthorne | Recurring cast |
| 1989 | 1st & Ten: The Championship | Coleman King | Episode: "Final Bow" & "Out of the Past" |
| 1989–91 | MacGyver | Jesse Colton | 3 episodes |
| 1991 | Father Dowling Mysteries | Brad Whitfield | Episode: "The Joyful Noise Mystery" |
| 1991 | The Cosby Show | Mr. Bostic | Episode: "Pam Applies to College" |
| 1992–93 | All My Children | Lucas Barnes | Regular cast |
| 1993 | Saved by the Bell: The New Class | Judge Thurston Jones | Episode: "Good-bye Megan" |
| 1995 | Picket Fences | Dale "Sky" Betts | Episode: "Bloodbrothers" |
| 1996 | Pandora's Clock | Captain Daniel Robb | Episode: "Episode #1.1 & 1.2" |
| 1997 | Good News | Percy Shepperd | Episode: "Show Me the Money: Part 1 & 2" |
| 1997 | Moesha | Marlon James | Episode: "Talk to the Town" |
| 1998 | The Parent 'Hood | T.K.'s Father | Episode: "Color Him Father" |
| 1998 | L.A. Doctors | Gary Miller | Episode: "The Code" |
| 1999 | Sister, Sister | Victor Sims | Recurring cast: season 6 |
| 1999 | Judging Amy | Thomas Horne | Episode: "An Impartial Bias" |
| 2000 | Family Law | Chuck | Episode: "One Mistake" |
| 2001 | JAG | Sgt. Dan Craig | Episode: "Baby, It's Cold Outside" |
| 2001 | Touched by an Angel | Nicholas Freeman | Episode: "The Sign of the Dove" |
| 2001 | Soul Food | Reverend Bobby Baxter | Episode: "Games People Play" |
| 2001 | Strong Medicine | Alton Clayborne | Episode: "Systemic" |
| 2001 | The Bernie Mac Show | Bishop | Episode: "Saving Bernie Mac" |
| 2002 | The District | Commander Richard Gray | Episode: "Shades of Gray" & "Payback" |
| 2002 | For the People | Clay Portman | Episode: "Textbook Perfect" |
| 2003 | Half & Half | Ben | Episode: "The Big How the Ex Stole Christmas Episode" |
| 2004 | The Division | LaBon | Episode: "Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here" |
| 2004 | Dead Like Me | William Garrett | Episode: "Hurry" |
| 2004 | NYPD Blue | Agent Wycoff | Episode: "Divorce, Detective Style" |
| 2005 | E-Ring | | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2006 | All of Us | Luther Brody | Episode: "Like Father, Like Son... Like Hell!" & "My Two Dads" |
| 2008 | Numb3rs | Clay Porter, Sr. | Episode: "End Game" |
| 2011 | Angry Boys | Shwayne Senior | Recurring cast |
| 2013–16 | Real Husbands of Hollywood | Detective Smith | Episode: "Hook, Lie & Sink Her" & "Hart in the Hood" |
| 2015 | Being Mary Jane | Charles | Episode: "Sparrow" |
| 2016 | Saints & Sinners | Pastor Evan Johnson | Episode: "Power Is Our Religion" |
| 2017 | Stitchers | Admiral Decker | Episode: "Out of the Shadows" & "Maternis" |
| 2017–21 | Grey's Anatomy | Bill Pierce | 3 episodes |
| 2018 | In Contempt | Earl Sullivan | Recurring cast |
| 2019 | Mixed-ish | Lynwood | Episode: "Do They Know It's Christmas?" |
| 2021 | Partners in Rhyme | Windell | Episode: "F.O.E." |
| 2022 | The Ms. Pat Show | Major | Episode: "Parents Just Don't Understand" |
| TBA | Beauty in Black | Norman | Series regular |