Office Space, Bridesmaids star Richard Riehle dead at 78
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Richard Riehle, best known for his roles in Office Space and Bridesmaids, has died aged 78.
Riehle died in Los Angeles of natural causes on October 15, Variety confirmed.
Richard Riehle, pictured in Bridesmaids, has died aged 78. Universal Pictures
Riehle was a prolific character actor with more than 400 screen credits spanning decades beginning with the 1975 John Wayne film Rooster Cogburn.
He is perhaps best recognised as product manager Tom Smykowski in 1999 dark comedy Office Space and mechanic Bill Cozbi in Bridesmaids.
Riehle was also one of Hollywood’s favourites to play Santa Claus, having played him in eight different projects including five films, two TV shows and a TV movie.
His other credits included Grounded for Life, Wedding Crashers, Casino, Free Willy and Transformers: Age of Extinction as well as multiple appearances in the Star Trek universe.
Riehle kept this impressive work ethic throughout his final months.
According to IMDb, he had six upcoming projects completed or in post-production.
In a 2020 interview, Riehle spoke about being a recognisable face to movie and TV fans.
“I was doing a show in New York while I was in Grounded For Life. I noticed people recognising me, and I found out that about 50 per cent recognise me from Office Space,” he told Monkeys Fighting Robots.
“Another 10 to 15 per cent would recognise me from whatever movie was playing on late night. Sometimes it was Joe Dirt or Jury Duty or The Fugitive. Immediately I knew what was on TV that week.”
Riehle had earned more than 400 acting credits. Getty
But he also joked he had one of those faces people couldn’t place.
“Another 10 per cent were sure that I was a teacher at their high school or worked at their local deli,” he said.
Riehle is survived by his wife, Jane Latham, and their four children.
