Biography
While Richard Libertini, who grew up in Massachusetts, was of Italian descent, his acting career took off as he began to parlay his distinct look into playing various ethnicities with a variety of accents. In the 1960s, he started off in comedy, as part of Second City in Chicago and as an original member of the Off-Broadway production "The Mad Show" that was based off on Mad Magazine. His early comedic success translated into character roles and guest spots, first on film with the William Friedkin musical comedy "The Night They Raided Minsky's" (1968) and soon after on television in episodes of "That Girl" (ABC 1966-1971) and "Mary Tyler Moore" (CBS 1970-77). For the rest of the '70s, Libertini was a regular fixture in various shows, including multi-episode runs on "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" (Syndicated 1976-77) and "Soap" (ABC 1977-1981). His broad comedic and ethnic range hit the big time in his memorable turn as General Garcia in the madcap comedy "The In-Laws" (1979). Right after, Libertini appeared in Robert Altman's "Popeye" (1980) and appeared alongside Burt Reynolds in "Sharky's Machine" (1981) and "Best Friends" (1982). He created another memorable character shortly after in the Chevy Chase-starring "Fletch" (1985) and "Fletch Lives" (1989) as the titular character's befuddled copy chief. He furthered his character actor reputation throughout the '80s with roles in "Unfaithfully Yours" (1984) and the Steve Martin-starring "All of Me" (1984). In the early '90s, Libertini also dabbled in voice acting, chiefly as the genie Dijon in Disney's "DuckTales" (1987-1990). His last credited role was in "Dolphin Tale" (2011). In 2014, Libertini was diagnosed with cancer and passed away in early 2016.
