Richmond Shepard(1929-2019)

Richmond Shepard is one individual who can truly be called multi-talented. He is one of America's most brilliant mimes, having toured the world with his one-man show. He has played in every major city in the United States and was a fixture for years at "The Ice House" in Pasadena, California. He has produced shows in New York City, most notably, The Lenny Bruce Revue and was the creator of the improvisational comedy troupe, "Noo Yawk Tawk", which became the proving ground for many up-and-coming young stars. Some of the performers who started out in the troupe include, Debra Wilson from MADtv (1995), Stan Taffel, three-time Emmy Award Winner for The News in Revue (1993), and Doug Katsaros, composer for Super Zéro (1994), among other works. He has appeared on numerous television shows including a hilarious turn as a french mime whose act is nearly destroyed by Dick Van Dyke on his last comedy television sitcom in the 1990's, The Van Dyke Show (1988). He resides in New York City but still comes out to the West Coast to appear with his daughter, Vonda Shepard, on Ally McBeal (1997).