35 Star Trek Actors Who Died In 2022
29. Mitchell Ryan
Mitchell Ryan will be known to Trek fans as Kyle Riker, father of William T., appearing in the second season episode of The Next Generation, The Icarus Factor. By this time, he was already a well-known actor, having been a member of the Screen Actors Guild for years, and getting his start in acting while still serving in the Navy, which he joined at 17.
He was an original cast member on the supernatural drama Dark Shadows, though he was later fired. At the same, he was unable to overcome his addiction to alcohol, and would later say that he barely remembered anything about those years, as they were lost in a haze of drunkenness. He was able to finally take control, and continued to act.
He appeared in The A-Team, Lethal Weapon, Hot Shots: Part Deux, and Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers. In that sixth Halloween film, he played Dr. Wynn, taking over from Robert Phalen, and his casting led to an unscripted moment in the picture. Producer Bob Weinstein called director Joe Chappelle while the crew was preparing to shoot a scene, screaming at him to remove ceremonial robes from the script. The entire crew heard this, and Chappelle asked Ryan to say the line - "Okay, Okay, you can take the robe off now that Halloween is over".
Ryan died at age 88 in his home in LA, from congestive heart failure.