Celebrity Biographies
Allan Rich
It is not a star. He is not a protagonist. But he has been in a lot of movies and series, with little characters that he nailed. And it is that Allan Rich was what is usually called a character actor. He filled with life what on paper could be something close to the stereotype. The actor has died at the age of 94 at the Lillian Booth Actors’ Residence in Englewood;He had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for some time.
His real name was Benjamin Norman Schultz and he was born in 1926 in New York, growing up in the Bronx and Queens. His proud mother assured that when he was three years old he suddenly went up on stage to sing, which predicted his future professional dedication to acting. He began in the theater, and on the stage he would rub shoulders with actors such as Henry Fonda , Edward G. Robinson , Claude Rains and Kim Hunter .. He would begin to make a name for himself on television, but he was one of those anonymous victims of blacklists, branded as a communist – he claimed that for defending a black man against a false accusation of rape – he saw his career come to a screeching halt. He had to dedicate himself to jobs outside of acting, from the financial market to the world of art galleries. Already in the 60s he was able to get a job for the small screen again.
And a good opportunity came from the hand of Sidney Lumet in Sérpico (1973), where he played one of his iconic character characters, the district attorney. Which led to new roles around the world of crime and vice, as in The Player (1974) and The Happy Prostitute (1975). In any case, he mostly got roles in episodes of television series, although occasionally there was the possibility of being on the big screen –in the 80s he did The Entity and Frances– , and with renowned directors such as Robert Redford – Quiz Show (1994) . –, Barry Levinson – Harassment (1994)–,Francis Ford Coppola – Jack (1996)– and Steven Spielberg – Friendship (1997)–. And the Spanish Fernando Trueba counted on him in 1995 for his film in English, a tribute to the humor of Billy Wilder, Two Much .
An active man until the limitations of illness and age arrived, he could be seen on screen until 2014, and he published a book on the acting trade, “A Leap From the Method”. He also founded an NGO, We Care About Kids, which deals with shooting educational shorts to prevent discrimination in schools. He was married to representative Elaine Rich for 62 years, until her death. He is survived by two sons and two granddaughters.