L.A. Law's Richard Dysart, 86, Dies in his Santa Monica Home

Private services were pending today for Richard Dysart, best known for his Emmy-winning portrayal of hard-nosed attorney Leland McKenzie on NBC’s “L.A. Law.”

Dysart died Sunday at his Santa Monica home at age 86, his wife told The Hollywood Reporter.

He won an Emmy in 1992 for his work as the leader of the fictional McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney and Kuzak law firm on “L.A. Law.”

Dysart appeared in a series of television shows in the 1960s and 70s, while also appearing in films such as “The Hospital,” “The Day of the Locust,” “The Hindenburg” and “Meteor.” In the 1980s, he appeared as Clint Eastwood’s nemesis in “Pale Rider.” He played President Harry S Truman in a pair of television projects in the late 1980s -- the TV movie “Day One” and the miniseries “War and Remembrance.”

His other film credits include “Wall Street,” “The Falcon and the Snowman,” “The Thing,” “Being There,” “Back to the Future III” and “Hard Rain.”

Dysart’s family requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga Canyon, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

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