# Sy Richardson

Sy Richardson (born 1941) is an American film and television actor. Also a two-time screenwriter, Richardson wrote the screenplay for the 1993 film Posse.

## Early life and education

He was born in Cincinnati and grew up in Chicago. He attended Farragut Career Academy. He served two years in the United States Navy. He received an associate of arts in black history and music from Kennedy–King College in 1972 and received a Bachelor of Science in journalism, specializing in advertising, from the University of Colorado Boulder in 1975.

## Career

Richardson made his film debut as the Fairy Godmother, in the 1977 American erotic musical comedy Cinderella. He is perhaps best known as a regular in the films of Alex Cox, having appeared in Repo Man, Sid and Nancy, Straight to Hell, Walker, The Winner and Searchers 2.0. He played "Turbo" in the 1990 film Tripwire. He recently had a recurring role as the coroner on the TV series Pushing Daisies. He also appeared in They Live and Colors.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1977 | Cinderella | Fairy godmother | |
| 1977 | Petey Wheatstraw | Petey's father | |
| 1978 | Fairy Tales | Sirus | |
| 1979 | Nocturna: Granddaughter of Dracula | RH Factor | |
| 1983 | My Brother's Wedding | Mr. Dubois | |
| 1984 | Repo Man | Lite | |
| 1986 | Sid and Nancy | Methadone Caseworker | |
| 1987 | Straight to Hell | Norwood | |
| 1987 | Walker | Capt. Hornsby | |
| 1987 | Cold Steel | Rashid | |
| 1987 | Medium Rare | Marv | |
| 1988 | Tapeheads | Bartender | |
| 1988 | Dead Man Walking | Snake | |
| 1988 | Bad Dreams | Detective Wasserman | |
| 1988 | Colors | Bailey | |
| 1988 | They Live | Black Revolutionary | |
| 1989 | Three Fugitives | Tucker | |
| 1989 | Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects | Lavonne | |
| 1989 | Mystery Train | Newsvendor | Segment: "A Ghost" |
| 1989 | Tripwire | Turbo | |
| 1990 | To Sleep with Anger | Marsh | |
| 1990 | Catchfire | Capt. Walker | |
| 1990 | Street Asylum | Sgt. 'Joker' Tatum | |
| 1990 | Men at Work | Walt Richardson | |
| 1990 | The Grifters | Cab driver | Uncredited |
| 1993 | Ring of Fire II: Blood and Steel | Ernest | |
| 1993 | Eye of the Stranger | Jeb | |
| 1993 | Posse | Shepherd | Also screenwriter |
| 1994 | Floundering | Commander K | |
| 1994 | The Glass Shield | Mr. Taylor | |
| 1996 | Killin' Me Softly | Mr. Richardson | |
| 1996 | The Winner | Bartender | |
| 1996 | Evil Obsession | Jim | |
| 1998 | Shattered Illusions | Gene | |
| 1998 | Erasable You | Miliatant | |
| 1998 | Mr. P's Dancing Sushi Bar | Harry | |
| 2000 | The Playaz Court | Ike | |
| 2001 | Human Nature | Police detective | |
| 2001 | Extreme Honor | Schultz | |
| 2004 | Surviving Christmas | Doo-Dah Understudy | |
| 2007 | Lord Help Us | Church member | Direct-to-video |
| 2007 | The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning | Shiner #2 | |
| 2007 | Sister's Keeper | Cornelious | |
| 2007 | All About Us | Willie Earl | |
| 2007 | Searchers 2.0 | Fritz Frobisher | |
| 2008 | South of Heaven | Pawn Daddy | |
| 2008 | Shattered! | Art | |
| 2010 | Our Family Wedding | Sonny | |
| 2010 | A Numbers Game | Bernie | |
| 2010 | Straight to Hell Returns | Norwood | |
| 2011 | Monkey Man | Mr. Greenwood | |
| 2011 | Larry Crowne | Avery | |
| 2012 | House Arrest | Paster P | |
| 2013 | The Pain Killers | Reverend Samuel | |
| 2015 | Faith of Our Fathers | Dan | |
| 2016 | The Reluctant Polyglot | Harris Liepo | |
| 2016 | Can I Get a Witness Protection? | Eddie | |
| 2017 | Message from a Mistress | Mr. Hall | |
| 2016 | The God of Death | Tony Red | |
| 2019 | 5th of July | Pops | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1985 | Hill Street Blues | Baggage Attendant | Episode: "In the Belly of the Bus" |
| 1989 | Falcon Crest | Detective Olen | Episode: "Doctor Dollars" |
| 1990 | Wings | Luther | Episode: "Return to Nantucket: Part 1" |
| 1990 | Gabriel's Fire | Miles Parker | Episode: "I'm Nobody" |
| 1990 | The New Adam 12 | Mr. Simms | Episode: "Framed" |
| 1991 | Clippers | Customer | Television film |
| 1991 | China Beach | Franklin | Episode: "Through and Through" |
| 1992 | Cheers | Gordon | Episode: "No Rest for the Woody" |
| 1993 | Hangin' with Mr. Cooper | Mr. Gooding | Episode: "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" |
| 1993 | Crime & Punishment | Willie Carson | Episode: "Best Laid Plans" |
| 1995 | Martin | Boss man | Episode: "The Romantic Weekend" |
| 1997 | Malcolm & Eddie | Mr. Brooks | Episode: "Jugglin'" |
| 1997 | Players | Slider | Episode: "Con Law" |
| 1998 | Profiler | Gus | Episode: "Double Vision" |
| 1999 | Becker | Mr. Duncan | Episode: "Limits & Boundaries" |
| 1999 | Any Day Now | | Episode: "Don't Say Anything" |
| 1999 | Heat Vision and Jack | Doctor | Television film |
| 2000 | After Diff'rent Strokes: When the Laughter Stopped | Mr. Coleman | Television film |
| 2002 | The Division | Bus driver | Episode: "Long Day's Journey" |
| 2003 | L.A. County 187 | Leotis Brown | Television film |
| 2003 | ER | Coleman | Episode: "Out of Africa" |
| 2003 | Dragnet | Manassas PD Capt. Leonard | Episode: "Slice of Life" |
| 2004 | Charmed | Father Wilkins | Episode: "A Wrong Day's Journey Into Right" |
| 2005 | The Shield | Brother William | Episode: "Insurgents" |
| 2006, 2007 | Monk | Janitor / Sanitation Worker | 2 episodes |
| 2007 | Cold Case | Byron '07 | Episode: "It Takes a Village" |
| 2007–2009 | Pushing Daisies | Coroner | 12 episodes |
| 2008 | Lincoln Heights | Family Member #3 | Episode: "The Day Before Tomorrow" |
| 2008 | Chocolate News | Clarence Baldwin | Episode #1.10 |
| 2010 | Medium Rare | Marv | Episode #1.1 |
| 2012 | Prime Suspect | Man | Episode: "Stuck in the Middle with You" |
| 2012 | Rizzoli & Isles | Sour Grapes | Episode: "This Is How a Heart Breaks" |
| 2013 | NCIS | Lester | Episode: "Hit and Run" |
| 2013 | FutureStates | Luther | Episode: "The Living" |
| 2014 | Benched | Moon Rock | Episode: "Shark, Actually" |
| 2015 | Documentary Now! | David | Episode: "Sandy Passage" |
| 2017 | Like Family | Greg | 3 episodes |
| 2020 | Family Reunion | Brother Franklin | Episode: "Remember Our Parents' Wedding?" |
| 2020 | Broke | Henry | Episode: "The Test" |