Richard Riehle, a familiar face across television and film for nearly five decades, has died at 78. Wright Entertainment Inc. announced Monday that Riehle died Oct. 15 but did not release a cause or additional details.
The agency described him as an exceptional performer and a beloved member of the entertainment community. “Our industry has lost an exceptional talent, and our community has lost a truly wonderful man,” it said in a statement.
Riehle built a career playing authority figures with ease, but he was equally at home in comedy. His credits ranged from the Civil War drama “Glory,” in which he played a quartermaster, to “The Fugitive,” where he appeared as a prison guard. He also played an air marshal in “Executive Decision,” a police officer in a guest role on “The West Wing,” and a principal in the television adaptation of “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”
In 2017, The AV Club noted that whenever a casting director needed a hefty, blustery, mustachioed man, Riehle was likely a leading candidate.
Riehle found acting during his senior year at the University of Notre Dame. He was short on money but learned he could finish the credits he needed in speech and drama during a single semester, so he stayed. That semester gave him experience in acting, directing and set construction. His work impressed faculty enough to help him land a teaching assistantship at the University of Minnesota, where he earned his MFA. He later recalled thinking that if someone was willing to pay him to act, he would happily do it.
His first speaking lines came in the 1977 film “Joyride,” alongside Desi Arnaz Jr., Anne Lockhart, Robert Carradine and Melanie Griffith. He went on to appear in “Bridesmaids,” Woody Allen’s “Shadows and Fog,” “Black Rain” with Michael Douglas and the sitcom “Grounded for Life.”
Riehle also had a strong connection to the “Star Trek” universe, appearing in three franchises: “Star Trek: The Next Generation” in 1992, “Star Trek: Voyager” in 2000 and “Star Trek: Enterprise” in 2004. He appeared on Broadway three times, including a 1999 revival of “The Iceman Cometh” with Paul Giamatti.
Among his most cherished roles was Tom Smykowski in the 1999 film “Office Space.” Riehle played an expendable Initech employee who faces layoffs while insisting, “I have people skills!”