Veteran actor and Emmy winner Richard Dysart, 86, who played Leland McKenzie, the senior partner in "L.A. Law" -- TV's long-running courtroom drama, died at his home in Santa Monica, California on April 5 after a long illness.  

Dysart was nominated for four supporting actor Emmys in a row for his "L.A. Law" role before he finally won in 1992.  It was the last role he played in his long career as an actor since he made his film debut in 1968 in Richard Lester's "Petulia" (1968).  In 1972, he won a Drama Desk Award for his role as the Coach in the Broadway play "That Championship Season."  His numerous film appearances included Hal Ashby's "Being There" (1979), Clint Eastwood's "Pale Rider" (1989) and John Carpenter's "The Thing" (1982).

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He has also portrayed a number of prominent historical figures in various films including Dwight D. Eisenhower in "The Last Days of Patton," "Churchill and the Generals" and Harry S. Truman in the CBS movie "Day One" and in the ABC miniseries "War and Remembrance."   He also portrayed FBI director J. Edgar Hoover in "Panther" (1995) and Henry L. Stimson, secretary of war from 1940 to 1945, in "Truman," a 1995 TV movie.

Dysart was born March 30, 1929, in Boston and raised in Maine.  He acquired a master's degree in speech communications at Emerson College in Boston before heading to Broadway to pursue an acting career.

His third wife, artist Kathryn Jacobi, survives him. The family is planning a private memorial and requests that donations be made to the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, an outdoor theater in Topanga Canyon in the Los Angeles area in lieu of flowers.

TagsRichard Dysart, L.A. Law, died, Emmy awardee, actor