Richard Council

Richard Council (born Richard E. Council on October 1, 1947, in Tampa, Florida) is an American actor whose work spans stage, film, and television. He grew up on a family farm in Florida, and his Broadway career extended from 1973 to 1997.

Council's early stage work included a supporting role opposite John Wood in the 1974 Broadway production of Sherlock Holmes, as well as Harold Pinter's The Caretaker at Long Wharf Theatre. Regional theater also figured prominently in his career: he joined the Lexington Conservatory Theatre company for the world premiere of Grinder's Stand by Oakley Hall III in 1979, then took a starring role in Of Mice and Men the following year. When that company relocated to Albany and became Capital Repertory Theatre, he starred in Hall's stage adaptation of Frankenstein.

Several of Council's Broadway credits were productions directed by Ellis Rabb, including The Royal Family, The Merchant of Venice, and The Philadelphia Story. He also appeared on Broadway in two plays by Herb Gardner — Conversations with My Father and I'm Not Rappaport — as well as in Uncle Vanya. At Lincoln Center Theater, he performed opposite Stockard Channing in The Little Foxes, directed by Jack O'Brien.

Off-Broadway, Council appeared in Nine Armenians by Leslie Ayvazian at the Manhattan Theatre Club, Isn't It Romantic by Wendy Wasserstein at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, and Isadora Duncan Sleeps with The Russian Navy by Jeff Wanshel at the American Place Theatre.

On television, Council played Michael Blake on the CBS daytime series Love of Life from 1976 to 1978. His feature film appearances include Die Hard with a Vengeance, Canadian Bacon, Witness to the Mob, a film adaptation of I'm Not Rappaport, and Thirteen Conversations About One Thing.