Sanders, Richard (Kinard) 1940-

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SANDERS, Richard (Kinard) 1940-

PERSONAL: Born August 23, 1940, in Harrisburg, PA; son of Henry Irvine and Thelma Sanders. Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie-Mellon University), B.F. A., 1962; trained for the stage at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, 1962-63.

ADDRESSES: Office—Blood Star, Inc., P.O. Box 1644, Woodinville, WA 98072-1644. Agent—Arlene Thornton and Associates, 12711 Ventura Blvd., Suite 490, Studio City, CA 91604.

CAREER: Actor and writer. Blood Star, Inc., Woodinville, WA, president. U.S. Peace Corps, volunteer in Brazil, 1966-69, director of acting and stage movement for State Theater of Paraiba, 1966-68. Pacific Northwest Writers Conference, keynote speaker, 1996.

Actor in television series, including the roles of Les Nessman, WKRP in Cincinnati, Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), 1978-82; Benjamin Beanley, Spencer (also known as Under One Roof), National Broadcasting Co. (NBC), 1984-85; Frank Chapman, Berrenger's, NBC, 1984-85; voice, The In humanoids (animated), 1986-87; Paul Sycamore, You Can't Take It with You, syndicated, 1987-88; and Les Nessman, The New WKRP in Cincinnati, syndicated, 1991-93.

Actor in television movies, including Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn, NBC, 1977; Good against Evil, American Broadcasting Companies (ABC), 1977; Bud and Lou, NBC, 1978; Keefer (also known as Behind the Lines), ABC, 1978; Ruby and Oswald (also known as Four Days in Dallas), CBS, 1978; Diary of a Teenage Hitchhiker, ABC, 1979; Trouble in High Timber Country (also known as The Yeagers), ABC, 1980; Found Money (also known as My Secret Angel), NBC, 1983; Portrait of an Invisible Woman (also known as The Invisible Woman), NBC, 1983; Perry Mason: The Case of the Avenging Ace (also known as The Case of the Avenging Ace), NBC, 1988; Absent Minded Professor, The Disney Channel, 1989; and Simon and Simon: In Trouble Again, CBS, 1995.

Actor in television specials, including Stop, Thief!, 1976; Solid Gold '79, 1980; The Joke's on Mr. Little, 1982; Ike, ABC; and They've Killed President Lincoln; appeared in the television miniseries Roots II and Stephen King's Rose Red.

Guest actor in television series, including episodes of Newhart; Who's the Boss?; Married … with Children; Coach; Unhappily Ever After; Alice; Barnaby Jones; Gloria; Goodnight, Beantown; Lou Grant; McCloud; Simon and Simon; The Rockford Files; Designing Women; Murder, She Wrote; Night Court; It Takes Two; Charles in Charge; Riptide; Growing Pains; Blacke's Magic; Knots Landing; Days of Our Lives; Alf; Nothing in Common; Kojak; James at Sixteen; Easy Street; Sidekicks; Rafferty; and The Fugitive.

Actor in feature films, including Billy Jack Goes to Washington, Warner Bros., 1976; Midway, Universal, 1976; The Gypsy Warriors, Universal, 1978; Nude Bomb (also known as Maxwell Smart and the Nude Bomb and The Return of Maxwell Smart), Universal, 1980; Valley Girl, Atlantic, 1983; Neon City, Vidmark, 1992; The Beans of Egypt, Maine (also known as Forbidden Choices), IRS Releasing, 1994; Black Circle Boys, FSI, 1996; Nowheresville, Trout Films, 1998; Anoosh of the Airways, Sugar Shack Pictures, 1998; Lovers Lane, Lovers Lane LLC, 1999; and Men of Honor, Twentieth Century-Fox, 2000.

Actor in stage productions, including Raisin, produced in New York, NY, at 46th Street Theater, 1974-75; Travesties, Los Angeles, CA, Mark Taper Forum, 1976; and Sunshine Boys, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Stage West Theater, 1998; also appeared in Same Time, Next Year, in Kansas City, MO, at Tiffany's Attic; The Boss, New York, NY, at Chelsea Theater Center; appeared in productions at the Arena Stage, Washington, DC; Barter Stage, Abingdon, VA; Center Stage, Baltimore, MD; Front Street Theater, Memphis, TN; Champlain Shakespeare Festival, Burlington, VT; New York Shakespeare Festival, Lincoln Center, New York, NY; Los Angeles Actors Theater, Los Angeles, CA; Pasadena Playhouse, Pasadena, CA; and Seattle Repertory Theater, Seattle, WA.

MEMBER: Actors' Equity Association, Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Writers Guild of America.

AWARDS, HONORS: Fulbright grant for England, 1962-63.

WRITINGS:

(With Michael Fairman) Found Money (television movie; also known as My Secret Angel), NBC, 1983.

Author of episodes of the television series WKRP in Cincinnati, CBS, including "A Date with Jennifer," 1979; "A Commercial Break," 1979; "Most Improved Station," 1980; "The Airplane Show," 1980; and "The Impossible Dream," 1980. Also author (with Marilynn Marko-Sanders) of episodes of the syndicated series The New WKRP in Cincinnati, including "Long Live the King," 1991; and "Fever in the Morning: Parts 1 and 2," 1992; and an episode of The Famous Teddy Z, CBS, "Teddy Meets His Hero," 1989.

SIDELIGHTS: Richard Sanders is best known for his role as the timid, fact-collecting news reporter Les Nessman on the television series WKRP in Cincinnati. In this popular and critically acclaimed prime-time situation comedy, the people who work at an unsuccessful radio station try a variety of schemes to make the station more popular. Ben Fong-Torres, a contributor to Rolling Stone, reviewed the series in its troubled first season, when the show was put on hiatus for two months then brought back on a new day and time slot: "WKRP deserves to stay alive. Besides being one of the few literate comedy shows left, with good ensemble acting (all in the tradition of the Mary Tyler Moore Show), WKRP offers comic but on-the-mark glimpses of the radio and record businesses." Sanders's character was often made the butt of jokes for his expert knowledge in trivial matters and his sexual naivete. In addition to writing several episodes for WKRP in Cincinnati, Sanders is the coauthor, with Michael Fair-man, of Found Money, also known as My Secret Angel, a made-for-television movie in which two friends attempt to reward the few good acts they encounter in a world they find increasingly callous. In pursuit of this goal they invent an agency called The Invisible Friend, Inc., but soon run into trouble.