Richard Lineback

Infobox actor
name= Richard Lineback

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imagesize= 200px
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birthdate= 1952
location= Frankfurt, Germany
occupation= Actor
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yearsactive= 1975 to present
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homepage=

Richard D. Lineback (born 1952) is an American actor. He has performed in character roles in such blockbuster movies as "Speed", "Twister" and "Varsity Blues". He played Deputy Dodd in "".

Lineback has appeared in many roles on the stage, with leads that include Tom Joad in "The Grapes of Wrath", C.C. Showers in "The Diviners", for which he won the Drama-Logue Award for Outstanding Actor, and the title role in "Mister Roberts".

He has also appeared in numerous guest appearance roles for television, including Romas in ', Selin Peers in ' and Kessick in "". He also appeared in the role as Rev. Vernon Canty in two episodes of "JAG".

Early life

He was born in Frankfurt, Germany, the son of Carl Mayo Lineback (1922–2004) and Dorothy Anne Darnall (1923–2008). His siblings are Robert B. Lineback (born 1953) and Carol A. Lineback (born 1955). His father was a physician and an officer in the U.S. Army assigned to the 97th General Hospital in Frankfurt. When he retired from active military service, in 1965, Dr. Lineback relocated with his family to Austin, Texas, where he established a private practice. ["Austin American-Statesman", Feb. 11, 2004, Obituary of Carl Mayo Lineback.]

Richard Lineback attended the University of Texas at Austin.cite web |title=Richard Lineback – Deputy Dodd |first= |last= |work=Friday the 13th Films |url=http://www.fridaythe13thfilms.com/saga/part5/richardlineback.html |date= |accessdate=2008-09-15] He moved to Los Angeles, California, where he pursued an acting career.

Career

In 1975, Lineback joined the Colony Theatre Company, in Burbank, and was in the cast of the play "The Grass Harp". Among the many productions he has appeared in, his roles include Eugene Gant in "Look Homeward, Angel", Tom Joad in "The Grapes of Wrath", C.C. Showers in "The Diviners", for which he won the Drama-Logue Award for Outstanding Actor, Dan White in "Execution of Justice", and the title role in "Mister Roberts".

His movie debut was in the role as Steve Estes in the biopic/drama "Joni" (1980), the story of Joni Eareckson. He played Larry in the western/drama "Hard Country" (1981) with Jan-Michael Vincent and Kim Basinger. Lineback then played Deputy Dodd in the slasher/horror "" (1985).

His numerous television guest appearances include roles in episodes of "The Love Boat", "M*A*S*H", "The Waltons", "Crazy Like a Fox", "Matlock", ', "Hunter", "China Beach", "Dallas", ', "NYPD Blue", "Touched by an Angel", "" and "JAG". He also played the role as Billy in the "Incident In A Small Jail" segment of the television movie "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1985).

Lineback played the role as Al LeFauve in the world premiere stage production of "Baby Dance", co-starring Linda Purl and Stephanie Zimbalist, at the Pasadena Playhouse, for which he was nominated for the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Actor. He later reprised the role at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, in Massachusetts, and the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven.

In the movie "Natural Born Killers" (1994), Lineback's character, Sonny, was the first redneck to be shot to death by the murderous couple, Mickey Knox (played by Woody Harrelson) and Mallory Knox (played by Juliette Lewis). As Mr. Thornton in "Twister" (1996) with Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton, Lineback was the first farmer to be killed by a raging tornado. He played an FBI special agent, McMurphy, in the crime/thriller "The Jackal" (1997) with Bruce Willis, Richard Gere and Sidney Poitier.

Lineback recreated his role as Al LeFauve for the Showtime movie "The Baby Dance" (1998) co-starring Stockard Channing and Laura Dern. In the theatrical horror movie "The Ring" (2002) with Naomi Watts and Martin Henderson, Lineback played the innkeeper.

Richard Lineback lives in Los Angeles.

Filmography

Made-for-TV filmography

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0512610|name=Richard Lineback
* [http://www.colonytheatre.org/bios/lineback.html Richard Lineback at the Colony Theatre Website]