Mitchell Ryan, veteran actor and Star Trek: The Next Generation guest star, has passed away at 88

Mitchell Ryan, who portrayed Kyle Riker in Star Trek: The Next Generation, has passed away

MARCH 6, 2022 - You might know him as General Peter McAllister from Lethal Weapon or as Edward Montgomery from Dharma & Greg. You might even know him as Burke Devlin from the original Dark Shadows. Star Trek fans know him, though, as William Riker’s estranged father, Kyle, in the Star Trek: The Next Generation season two episode, “The Icarus Factor.” 

Mitchell Ryan, whose Kyle Riker begins to reconcile with his son and has a past with Dr. Pulaski, has died at the age of 88. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ryan died of heart failure on Friday, March 4.

Ryan was born in Cincinnati and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, where he was bitten by the acting bug after seeing Warren Oates in Dark of the Moon, in 1953. He worked on stage and in television, and he made his film debut in 1958 as Jed Moultrie in Thunder Road, starring Robert Mitchum. (Jerry Hardin, known to Trek fans from three episodes between TNG and Star Trek: Voyager, also appeared in that film.) 

Ryan had said that he was also in the running to land the role of Jean-Luc Picard saying, “I was pretty well considered until they ran across that incredible British actor … Patrick Stewart. I don’t know how close I came, but I was told [at the time] I was really being considered and it was looking good.”

He might have missed a shot at the captain’s chair, but over the years Ryan amassed many television and film credits in a genre-encompassing career. He appeared in soap operas and cop shows, comedies and westerns. He was even a United States Senator – if only for one episode of The West Wing.

For more on the life and career of Mitchell Ryan, head over to The Hollywood Reporter, and please join us in offering our condolences to his family and friends.