The last few weeks have reminded us of the shortness of life. With the passing of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, and now Billy Mays, the consciousness of America has turned once again to our own mortality, and the futility of trying to escape it. What you won’t hear about in the news, on the radio, or in the newspaper is the passing of someone else. A person who lived an unremarkable life by conventional standards, but to those who knew and loved him, he was a most remarkable man.
Leslie Richards was by all accounts an interesting person, loving, devoted, and for lack of a better term, strange. In this world everyone has a drum that they march to. Leslie’s was the quintessential different one. I first met him during rehearsals for “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” and did not quite know what to make of this funny man with a big voice and a huge stage presence. He was a monster on stage, yet seemed fragile off. He had a big heart and a good sense of humor, but was extremely guarded. Looking back on it now it’s not hard to understand why but at the time he was, to say the least, an enigma.
Unfortunately, because of this Leslie made many bad first impressions. Fortunately once a person really got to know him those impressions were discarded. But because of them he was also misunderstood. He was opinionated and passionate about those things that meant the most to him, namely his views on his faith and family, yet was not above laughing at a well told off color joke. He was a smart-ass sonofabitch who would burn you without you even knowing it. He was subtle in his humor, yet retained a childlike innocence about him that was both endearing and infuriating. His laugh was infectious and his smile warming. He seldom complained about anything.
Yet he had a lot to complain about. His health had never been great. In the short time that I knew him he was admitted to the hospital three times. He was in constant pain and did his best to hide it. Knowing now some of the things that I know about his health problems it is surprising to me that he was able to carry on as well as he did.
I was blessed to work with him on four shows, including what I consider to be his masterpiece, “Veronica’s Room”. In this show he played the illegitimate, incest born, necrophiliac love child of mine and my good friend Jeanine Martin’s characters. As you can imagine this type of role is one that anyone would find uncomfortable with, and this was more than uncomfortable for him. However as with any role that a talented and committed actor is presented with, Leslie overcame his reservations about it and put in a performance that was revolting, touching, and tragic all at once. Those of us involved in that show formed a special bond that has now lost one of its strongest links.
There are few people in this world that can intimidate me by there sheer size but he was one of them. Not that I was afraid of him, nor that I thought he would ever do me harm, but he carried himself, with a quiet nobility that, combined with his physical stature, cut an imposing form. Yet he was one of the most approachable people I have ever known. And the man could sing. His beautiful tenor voice rang with passion, and longing that left me in awe every time I heard it.
There really is not much more that I can say about him. Except that this tragedy is compounded in my heart by two things. First he was too young to go. Leslie was not even out of his 30's when god finished his heavenly mansion and gave him the keys. Second that those in the world outside of this little circle of it that he called home, will never know just what they had and what they have lost.
...And Thank you.
Leslie Jacob Richards
1972 - 2009
Til' We Meet Again
Paul
