Richard Roat

Richard Roat (July 3, 1933 – August 5, 2022) was an American actor born in Hartford, Connecticut, to Mr. and Mrs. Richard D. Roat. He graduated from Trinity College, where his dramatic coach offered him little encouragement toward a professional acting career. Before leaving Hartford, Roat gained experience with local amateur theatrical groups, among them the Mark Twain Masquers and Oval in the Grove, and directed the premiere production of the Tunxis Players. During this period he held jobs at Aetna Fire and drove a delivery truck for the Newton Robertson Bakery.

In 1957, Roat hitchhiked to New York City to pursue acting professionally. He studied under Uta Hagen and Herbert Berghof while supporting himself through work in a gift shop and hanging wallpaper. His Broadway career began on January 1, 1961, when he replaced Michael Ebert in The Wall at the Billy Rose Theater. He went on to appear in Sunday in New York in 1961 and Come on Strong in 1962. He also performed for a season in summer stock theater in the Adirondack Mountains.

On television, Roat was a regular on the daytime drama The Doctors and made appearances on a wide range of programs spanning several decades, including Car 54, Where Are You?, Naked City, The Fugitive, Columbo, Kojak, Hill Street Blues, Cheers, The Golden Girls, Seinfeld, Friends, and Cold Case, among others. His film work included roles in Westworld (1973), American Hot Wax (1978), Heart and Souls (1993), and March (2001), as well as several other productions.

Alongside his performing career, Roat prepared taxes for entertainers for more than fifty years. He died of a heart attack on August 5, 2022, in Newport Beach, California. At the time of his death he was married to Kathy Arntzen.