RICHARD LYNCH - Cult Horror & Sci-Fi Star

Character actor Richard Lynch, who was noted for his villanious roles in numerous horror and science fiction films, was found dead at his home in Palm Springs, California, on June 19, 2012. Lynch was born in Brooklyn, New York, on February 12, 1936. He was 76.  He served in the U.S. Marines in the late 1950s, and trained at New York’s Actors Studio in the 1960s. His distinctive scarred face was the result of an drug-related incident in New York’s Central Park, where he set himself on fire after a bad LSD trip in 1967. He appeared in numerous films from the early 1970s, including "Scarecrow" (1973), "The Seven-Ups" (1973), "Open Season" (1974), "The Happy Hooker" (1975), "The Premonition" (1976), "God Told Me To" (1976), "The Baron" (1977), "Stunts" (1977), "Deathsport" (1978), "Steel" (1979), "Delta Fox" (1979), "Twinkle Twinkle, Killer Kane" (aka "The Ninth Configuration") (1980), "The Formula" (1980), "The Sword and the Sorcerer" (1982), "Inferno in Diretta" (aka "Cut and Run") (1985), "Invasion U.S.A." (1985), "Savage Dawn" (1985), "Nightforce" (1987), "The Barbarians" (1987), "Little Nikita" (1988), "Bad Dreams" (1988), "High Stakes" (1989), "One Man Force" (1989), "Lockdown" (1990), "The Forbidden Dance" (1990), "Aftershock" (1990), "Return to Justice" (1990), "The Last Hero" (1991), "Alligater II: The Mutation" (1991), "Puppet Master III: Toulon’s Revenge" (1991), "Trancers II" (1991), "Maxium Force" (1992), "Inside Edge" (1992), "Merlin" (1993), "Double Threat" (1993), "Showdown" (1993), "Necronomicon" (1993), "Loving Deadly" (1994), "Dangerous Waters" (1994), "Death Match" (1994), "Roughcut" (1994), "Scanner Cop" (1994), "Cyborg 3: The Recylcer" (1994), "Takedown" (1995),

 "Toughguy" (1995), "Dragon Fury" (1995), "Destination Vegas" (1995), "Midnight Confessions" (1995), "Vendetta" (1996), "The Garbage Man" (1996), "Werewolf" (1996), "Warrior of Justice" (1996), "Diamond Run" (1996), "Total Force" (1997), "Ground Rules" (1997), "Divine Lovers" (1997), "Under Oath" (1997), "Shattered Illusions" (1998), "Armstrong" (1998), "Love and War II" (1998), "Enemy Action" (1999), "Eastside" (1998), "Lone Tiger" (1999), "Lima: Breaking the Silence" (1999), "Strike Zone" (2000), "Death Game" (2001), "Ankle Bracelet" (2001), "Outta Time" (2002), "Crime and Punishment" (2002), "Curse of the Fourty-Niner" (2002), "Reflex Action" (2002), "Corpes Are Forever" (2003), "Final Combat" (2003), "First Watch" (2003), "Fabulous Shiksa in Destress" (2003), "Ancient Warriors" (2003), "The Mummy’s Kiss" (2003), "The Great War of Magellan" (2005), "Wedding Slashers" (2006), "Mil Mascaras vs. the Aztec Mummy" (2007), Rob Zombie’s "Halloween" (2007) as Principal Chambers, "Laid to Rest" (2009), "Chrome Angels" (2009), "The Rain" (2009), "Lewisburg" (2010), "Resurrection" (2010), and "Gun of the Black Sun" (2011). He appeared frequently on television, guest-starring in episodes of "Bronk", "Switch", "Baretta", "Serpico", "The Bionic Woman", "Battlestar Galactica", "Police Woman", "The Streets of San Francisco", "Starsky and Hutch", "Barnaby Jones", "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century", "A Man Called Sloane", "Charlie’s Angels", "Galactica 1980" as Xavier, "Vega$", "McLain’s Law", "The Phoenix" as Justin Preminger from 1981 to 1982, "Bring ‘Em Back Alive", "T.J. Hooker", "Manimal", "Masquerade", "Blue Thunder", "Automan", "Matt Houston", "Cover Up", "The A-Team", "The Fall Guy", "Partners in Crime", "Riptide", "MacGruder and Loud", "Scarecrow and Mrs. King", "Airwolf", "The Last Precinct", "Once a Hero", "The Law and Harry McGraw", "Werewolf",

 "CBS Summer Playhouse", "Hunter", "High Performance", "True Blue", "Dark Justice", "Jake and the Fatman", "Super Force" in the recurring role of Dr. Lothar Presley, "The Hat Squad", "Star Trek: The Next Generation", "Cobra", "Murder, She Wrote", "Thunder in Paradise", "Phantom 2040" in a voice role, "Highlander", "Baywatch", "Noi Siamo Angeli", "Thinking About Africa", "Mike Hammer, Private Eye", "Air America", "Acapulco H.E.A.T.", "Six Feet Under", and "Charmed". His other television credits include the tele-films "Roger & Harry: The Mitera Target" (1977), "Good Against Evil" (1977), "Dog and Cat" (1977), "Vampire" (1979), "Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story" (1980), "Sizzle" (1981), "White Water Rebels" (1983), "The Last Ninja" (1983), "Kojak: Flowers for Matty" (1990), and "Terminal Virus" (1995). Lynch had recently completed filming Rob Zombie’s "The Lords of Salem" (2012) at the time of his death. He and first wife, Beatrix, had a son, Christopher, who appeared with his father in the 1991 film "Trancers II", and died of pneumonia in 2005. He is survived by his second wife, Lily, who starred with him in the 1998 film "Breaking the Silence".