Richard Mulligan dead at 67

Sep 28, 2000 by Ian Evans

Richard Mulligan, a talented actor with a natural gift for comedy, died Tuesday from colon cancer.

Mulligan, 67, won Emmy awards for his starring roles in the sitcoms Soap and Empty Nest. He started in the business as a writer, but found himself becoming an actor. Between 1977 and 1981 he played Burt Campbell on Soap, which also starred Billy Crystal. He won an Emmy for that role in 1980. His next Emmy came in 1989 for his role on Empty Nest, a spinoff of The Golden Girls.

His film roles included The Undefeated, Little Big Man and S.O.B.

He was married five times and among his spouses were actress Joan Hackett and porn star Rachel Ryan.