Ron Richardson

Ron Richardson (January 27, 1952 – April 5, 1995) was an American actor and operatic baritone whose Broadway career spanned from 1978 to 1993. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Richardson was the son of William F. Richardson, who worked in the meat-packing industry, and a mother who operated a beauty parlor in the family home for more than three decades. He grew up alongside three siblings: brothers Franklyn Richardson and Raymond Lloyd Richardson, and sister Vickilyn Richardson, later known as Vickilyn Reynolds.

Richardson's musical development began early. By the age of four he was singing at a neighborhood church, and during his high school years he performed in choirs and dinner theater musicals while also studying voice and music composition. He went on to attend the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where he continued vocal training and took on roles in classic musicals including Show Boat, Camelot, and Man of La Mancha.

His professional career took shape in the mid-1970s through regional theater and opera engagements. In 1977, he portrayed Sportin' Life in the Houston Grand Opera's production of Porgy and Bess. The following year he made his Broadway debut playing the Chief of Police in the 1978 musical Timbuktu! In 1983, Richardson appeared in the national tour of Dreamgirls before returning to Broadway.

His most celebrated stage work came in 1985, when he originated the role of Jim in the Broadway musical Big River. Richardson described his interpretation of Jim, a runaway slave, as heroic in nature, telling The New York Times that in playing the character he drew on the memory of his grandfather — a man born free whose own parents had been enslaved, whom Richardson described as strong and majestic. The performance earned him both the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical, both in 1985. Big River closed in 1987.

Following the run of Big River, Richardson performed in concerts and staged productions across London, Japan, Moscow, and St. Petersburg, Russia. He appeared at The American Place Theater in Leslie Lee's Ground People and starred as Husky Miller in the Old Vic revival of Carmen Jones. He returned to Broadway in the early 1990s, appearing in Oh, Kay! and starring in The Boys Choir of Harlem and Friends.

Richardson died on April 5, 1995, from complications in Bronxville, New York, at the age of 43. His funeral was held on April 8 in Mount Vernon, New York, where he had resided.