March 05, 2022
Mitchell Ryan, 'Dark Shadows,' 'General Hospital' Actor, Dies at 88
Mitchell Ryan, square-jawed star of TV and film, died Friday of congestive heart failure at 88.
THR reports that the actor died at his L.A. home.
Perhaps best known as straitlaced Edward Montgomery on over 100 episodes of the sitcom "Dharma and Greg" (1997-2002), he started his career in the late '50s.
He had a memorable run as Burke Devlin on the cult-classic soap "Dark Shadows" (1966-1967), and appeared in such films as "Monte Walsh" (1970), "High Plains Drifter" (1973), "Magnum Force" (1973), "Lethal Weapon" (1987), "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers" (1995), and "Grosse Pointe Blank" (1997).
Ryan appeared on a 1989 episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" as Kyle Riker, but admitted in a 2018 interview that he had nearly been cast as Capt. Picard when the series launched in 1987 "until they ran across that incredible British actor Patrick Stewart."
Later in his career, he returned to his soap roots, appearing on "General Hospital" (1993-1994).
He had just published his memoir "Fall of a Sparrow" in 2021.
Ryan is survived by his wife Barbara, his stepdaughter, and five grandchildren.