Capitol Hill Blue Forums Misc. Topics History Roundtable The Passing Parade: Obituaries: 2017

Richard Anderson, a character actor known for playing sturdy authority figures in films and on television, most notably the government agent who doled out perilous missions on two popular series, “The Six Million Dollar Man” and “The Bionic Woman,” died on Thursday at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif. He was 91.

Jonathan Taylor, a spokesman for the family, confirmed the death.

With the polished good looks of a telegenic politician and standing an imposing 6 feet 3 inches tall, Mr. Anderson seemed made to order for the authority-figure roles — a police official, a military officer, a senator and more — that casting directors were so often eager to fill.

United Press International once described him as “always a chief, never an Indian.”

His acting career took off with two-dozen films for MGM in the early 1950s. He appeared with Cary Grant in the romantic comedy “Dream Wife” (1953), Leslie Nielsen in the cult science-fiction movie “Forbidden Planet” (1956) and Kirk Douglas in Stanley Kubrick’s antiwar World War I film, “Paths of Glory” (1957).