. . Ron Richardson (January 27, 1952 – April 5, 1995) actor and operatic baritone who died of AIDS in #Bronxville, New York. He was 43 years old. . Richardson grew up in Philadelphia where he attended the @uarts_cpa. He began his career in the mid-1970s and went on to appear in several Broadway musicals up until 1993. . Richardson most notable role was @thetonyawards and Drama Desk Award winning performance of Jim in the musical "Big River: the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” in 1985. . Richardson, in a 1986 interview with the Washington Post, discussed how the role of Jim mirrored aspects of his own life: . “The character's not so far removed from my own life. I can go only two generations back to my grandfather, who was born shortly after slavery —his father was a slave. My father was a sharecropper. So I remember hearing many stories about what life was like in the South. . In 50 years, our country has made incredible change, but not nearly as much as it should have made. I've dealt with racism and I've dealt with having opportunities taken away from me. There are very few jobs available to me now, as a Tony Award winning actor, because there just aren't a lot of black roles around." . 🎥 Richardson wins the 1985 @thetonyawards for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. . 📷 © Getty Images — Richardson, @boygeorgeofficial, @corneliaguest, #DanielJenkins and #ClorisLeachman attending a Broadway performance of 'Big River' on June 10, 1985 at #EugeneONeillTheatre, New York. . #whatisrememberedlives #theaidsmemorial #aidsmemorial #endaids #neverforget (at NYC AIDS Memorial)
