Welcome to the Deep Dive. We take a whole stack
of sources and, well, pull out the essential
stuff you need to know so you can sound informed.
And maybe drop a really surprising fact or two.
Exactly. Today, we're talking about an actor
whose face, you know. Instantly. Whose voice,
I mean, it's everywhere, especially in animation.
But his actual professional range, his ubiquity,
it's just wildly underappreciated. We're talking
about Richard Bruce Kind. It's so true. And our
mission today really is to give him his due.
He is, you could argue, the quintessential modern
character actor. Absolutely. I mean, think about
it. This is a guy whose career goes from the
sharp political satire of Spin City all the way
to the emotional core of a Pixar classic. And
then throws in a Tony -nominated dramatic performance
on Broadway. Right. And a major role in a Coen
Brothers film. It's a lot. It really is. When
you just start listing the roles. Dr. Mark Devenow
on Mad About You. Classic. The wonderfully paranoid
Paul Assiter on Spin City. Oh, he's fantastic.
And then, yeah, Bing Bong, Inside Out, just heartbreaking.
The range alone is staggering. So our conversation
today is designed to give you, the listener,
A shortcut. A way to understand not just what
he's done, but how it all connects. Yeah, the
improv roots, the stage discipline, how that
feeds into the film and TV work. It really defines
this career of, honestly, almost unmatched professional
stability. Okay, let's unpack this, starting
right at the beginning, his foundations. Okay,
so Richard Kind, born November 20, 1956, Trenton,
New Jersey. Okay. Seems like a fairly typical
upbringing, though they did move around a bit.
He moved with his family. He has a younger sister,
Joanne to Yardley, Pennsylvania. That was when
he was in fourth grade. Right, Yardley. And we
know a bit about his parents, too, which gives
some context. Yeah, his mother, Alice, she was
a homemaker. And his father, Samuel Kind, he
was a jeweler. Actually owned a well -known store,
LeVake's Jewelry, over in Princeton. A jeweler.
That's interesting. Sort of a stable, grounded
background, completely outside the acting world
he'd eventually jump into. Exactly. That parental
stability is sort of the backdrop. But then if
you dig into his ancestry, you find this really
fascinating kind of heavy historical detail.
Yeah. The sources confirm his family is of Russian
Jewish origin. His ancestors came from the pale
of settlement. Wow. Which, you know, ties him
into that whole long history of American performers
whose families came seeking opportunity, often
escaping restriction or persecution. That definitely
adds some historical weight right away. Yeah.
But you mentioned a specific detail. Something
about an ancestor. Yes. His great -grandfather,
Hyman Burson. The story is, well, it's quite
something. Go on. He immigrated, like so many,
to the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Started
out doing tough work, a peddler. Okay, the classic
immigrant. story start. Right, but he actually
managed to build something. He ended up running
a crayon factory. A crayon factory? Yeah, running
a crayon factory in like 1920s or 30s Manhattan.
It's such a specific, almost whimsical detail,
isn't it? Especially when you consider how his
life ended. Okay, that sounds ominous. You said
it contrasts sharply. It does, because the sources
state it very plainly. Hyman Burson was murdered
in 1933. Whoa. Yeah. So the great grandfather
of the guy who voiced Bing Bong murdered in Depression
era New York. It's just a really visceral reminder
of the complex and sometimes violent histories
that sit behind the biographies of performers
we often see as purely comedic or lighthearted.
Definitely grounds his family story in a much
deeper, darker historical reality. Wow. OK, so
that's some heavy foundational stuff. Let's shift
gears a bit. How did he get onto the path towards
performance? His education seems pretty key.
Absolutely. He graduated from Pensbury High School,
that's in Fairless Hills, back in 1974. And interestingly,
another actor you might know, Robert Curtis Brown,
was actually a classmate. Huh. Small world. And,
you know, recognition came later, too. In 2022,
Pensbury High inducted him into their Hall of
Fame. He was in the very first class. Nice. So...
The local community recognized his success too.
Yeah, exactly. After high school, he went to
Northwestern University, graduated in 78 with
a BA. He was in a fraternity there, Sigma Alpha
Epsilon. Northwestern, solid school. But was
that the main training? Or was there something
else? Well, that academic background was important,
I'm sure. But the real proving ground, the place
that seems absolutely fundamental to his entire
approach, the Second City in Chicago. Ah, okay.
That makes a lot of sense. That Second City training,
you can just see it ripple through everything
he does. The quick thinking, the adaptability,
the commitment to the ensemble, finding the character
fast. It all starts there. Right. He's listed
as an active alumnus from 1978, basically, to
the present day. Which tells you something, right?
Improv isn't just something he did. It's part
of his core professional identity. It taught
him how to pivot. Probably essential when you're
juggling multiple big roles at once. Totally.
And that skill set led pretty directly to his
first big TV exposure. He was an ensemble member
on Carol Burnett's variety show, Carol and Company.
Oh, I remember that. Short -lived, though, wasn't
it? Yeah, 1990 to 91. But it got him noticed,
put him on the network map, really. Set him up
perfectly for that incredible run he had in the
90s and early 2000s. Okay, let's talk about that
run. Because his presence on the small screen,
particularly in sitcoms, was just foundational.
He achieved something pretty remarkable. Yeah,
we really need to spend some time here. Because
he wasn't just on sitcoms, he was a mainstay.
And the truly exceptional thing, he managed to
hold down major roles on two hit sitcoms on different
networks at the same time for several years.
Which is practically unheard of, the scheduling
alone. Must have been insane. But beyond logistics,
it's the fact that he nailed two quite different
comedic personas simultaneously. That's the real
achievement. Let's break him down. First, Dr.
Mark Davinow on Mad About You. That started in
92, ran until 99. And he came back for the revival
in 2019, too. Right, Devena was, well, he was
the quintessential anxious but ultimately good
-hearted friend, wasn't he? That specific kind
of New York upper -middle -class neurotic energy.
Exactly. Always slightly frazzled, but lovable.
And then while that's still going strong, in
1996 he starts as Paul Lasseter on Spin City,
running all the way to 2002. And Lasseter was
a completely different beast. Oh yeah, not just
neurotic, but deeply cynical, paranoid, often
kind of sleazy. Always looking out for himself.
As the mayoral press secretary. He was a source
of so much comedic friction in that office. Yeah.
Constantly undermining everyone. Physical comedy,
too. Lots of it. And the genius, I think, is
how distinct he kept them. Devan, you know, you
related to his anxieties. Yeah. Lasseter. You
laughed at his paranoia, but you probably wouldn't
want him anywhere near your life. Right. He wasn't
just playing Richard Kine. He created two fully
formed different characters. Flipping that switch
daily. That's where that Second City training
really shows. Absolutely. And here's a key detail
about Spin City that speaks volumes about him
professionally. What's that? He and Michael Boatman,
who played Carter. Great character, too. They
were the only two actors who appeared in every
single episode of the entire run. Wow. Every
single one, even through the transition from
Michael J. Fox to Charlie Sheen. Every single
one. That's not just trivia, right? That tells
you he was considered absolutely essential, indispensable
to the show's core, no matter who the lead star
was. That's incredible stability. Just rock solid.
And beyond those two huge sitcoms, his connections
to other top comedians continued. We have to
talk about Larry David. Oh, yes. Cousin Andy
on Curb Your Enthusiasm. A recurring role that
spanned... What? Almost two decades. Eight episodes
between 2002 and 2021, which is amazing longevity
for Curb. And in that universe where everyone's
basically awful in their own way. Kind's cousin
Andy fits right in. Loud, invasive, demanding,
often just... Completely tone deaf. He's the
perfect foil for Leary's specific brand of simmering
rage, isn't he? That awkward, annoying family
energy cranked up to 11. He plays it perfectly.
It's a very specific kind of aggressive, uncomfortable
comedy. But it's not just the stable roles or
the big comedy connections. His guest spots.
I mean, the sheer variety is mind blowing. He
pops up everywhere. He really is that actor casting
directors call when they need someone to bring
a specific, maybe unexpected layer, whether it's
malice or pathos or just extreme quirkiness.
Let's look at the drama first. Law and order.
Criminal intent. Right, the episode Privilege.
He played this wealthy philanthropist, seems
like a pillar of the community. What? But he
murders his sister -in -law and niece to prevent
a scandal that would threaten his funding, his
reputation, his good works. Wow. That's dark.
Zero laughs there. None. Pure, dramatic commitment.
playing deep, calculated villainy. It's a million
miles away from Paul Lasseter. Even the Lasseter
was cynical. This was cold. And he showed that
kind of moral ambiguity elsewhere, too, right?
In other procedurals. Yeah, he played a corrupt
mayor in the season two finale of Leverage, two
-parter, and then shifting genre slightly, the
spy world, burn notice. He did three episodes
in season four, played Marv, who was the former
boss of Jesse, the spy who got burned. Oh, right.
So again, that figure who's professionally competent,
but... Morally flexible. Exactly. He excels at
that. The guy who knows how the system works
and maybe uses it to his advantage. He even brought
his distinct flavor to sci -fi. You mentioned
Stargate Atlantis. Yeah, Lucius will live in.
Two episodes, Irresistible and Irresponsible.
What was interesting about that? Well, he didn't
suddenly become, you know. A stoic space hero,
he used his trademark energy, his neurosis, but
channeled it into being this comedic outsider.
This sort of disruptive, slightly annoying character
dropped into this very structured sci -fi world.
It was a really smart use of his specific comedic
skills within that genre. And more recently,
he proved he could still anchor a network drama.
East New York on CBS. Played police captain Stan
Yanko. Solid role. The show itself only lasted
one season. Got canceled in 2022. Okay. But it
showed he's still absolutely seen as a dependable
choice for serious ensemble work. Yeah. He can
carry that weight. Okay, so drama. sci -fi procedurals.
But let's swing back to pure comedy and quirk
because that's often where he just shines. Oh,
absolutely. You have to mention Harvey Korman
in Scrubs. The hypochondriac. Yes. Constantly
showing up at the hospital. And that great meta
joke he delivered about sharing the name with
Harvey Korman, the legendary comedian. What was
it again? Something like, it doesn't get me as
much action as you might think. Huh. Perfect.
That kind of self -aware humor only works if
you've got the comedic chops he has. Totally.
Then there was Psych. He played Hugo, an astronomer
who turns out to be a murderer. And the episode
title was perfect. From the Earth to the Starbucks.
Psych always had the best titles. And he fit
right into super modern high concept stuff, too.
Yeah. Like playing the GED instructor on Unbreakable
Kimmy Schmidt. Right. He just slots in anywhere.
The sheer number of these guest spots across
every conceivable genre, it just shows he's not
playing one type. He plays the essential character
needed for that. specific story, whatever gets
the plot moving or provides the right comedic
or dramatic beat. And that consistency hasn't
stopped. Look at his current work. Only Murders
in the Building. Huge hit for Hulu. He plays
Vince Fesh. Right. And he's really integrated
into that core ensemble now. So much so that
he was part of the cast that won the Screen Actors
Guild Award for Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy
Series just this year, 2025. That's fantastic.
An Ensemble SAG Award is... Like the ultimate
validation for a character actor, isn't it? Recognizing
that contribution to the whole machine. Absolutely.
And just to show he hasn't forgotten his comedy
roots, last year, 2023, he popped up in Mel Brooks'
History of the World Part 2. Playing who? St.
Peter. Of course. Perfect casting. The man's
TV resume is just, it's endless. Truly. OK, so
if he's a titan of the small screen, his voice
work. I mean, you could argue he's the voice
of a whole generation of animated movies. We
need to talk about Disney Pixar. Oh, definitely.
For a lot of people, especially younger audiences,
his voice is probably the most recognizable part
of his career. And it shows that same incredible
range. His Pixar connection goes way, way back.
The Bug's Life, right? 1998. Yep. He was Malt,
the nervous, kind of easily flustered grasshopper
in the circus troupe. Perfect voice for that.
And he carried that kind of energy over to the
Cars movies, too. Voiced Van, the minivan who's
always getting lost or stressed out. In the first
two films, 2006 and 2011. And a smaller role,
but memorable, Bookworm in Toy Story 3. Right.
Those are great examples of him using that natural,
high energy, slightly anxious delivery for reliable
comic relief. Classic Richard Kind territory.
But then there's the one role that just exists
on a completely different plane. emotionally,
culturally. Bing Bong. Bing Bong. Inside Out.
2015. Riley's imaginary friend. Yeah, this one,
it needs its own discussion because it's not
just a voice performance. It's the heart of that
movie. He is the embodiment of childhood innocence,
of fading memories, of letting go. Exactly. The
sources really hammer this home. Bing Bong was
the emotional core. And the reason it hit so
hard, why it resonated so deeply with audiences,
is because Kind managed to infuse this fluffy
pink whatever he was. Part cat, part elephant,
part dolphin. Made of cotton candy. Right. He
infused that creature with just immense selfless
pathos. You hear the joy in his voice, the hope,
the nostalgia, and then ultimately the heartbreak.
He had to completely suppress his usual manic
energy for that role. Find this incredibly sweet,
almost tragic innocence. And that final scene.
Take her to the moon for me. It's one of the
most famous, most devastating moments in modern
animation. Maybe cinema. Period. It's just unbelievable
that the same actor who played the cynical, scheming
Paul Lasseter could deliver that voice performance,
making millions weep over an imaginary friend.
That vocal shift alone is just, it's a masterclass.
It really is. And moving beyond Pixar, he's got
incredible staying power in animated TV too,
often voicing characters that blend that cynicism
with absurdity. Like Gone American Dad. He's
been voicing Al Tuttle since 2005. Still going.
Tuttle, the neighbor. That sort of dry, middle
-aged, suburban weirdness. And then for a totally
different vibe, the adult animation world. Yeah.
Big mouth on Netflix. Marty Globerman, Andrew's
dad. Scheduled to run through 2025. And Globerman
is, well, he's a lot. Rich, often completely
oblivious. A whole other layer of comedic neurosis.
Very different from Tuttle. He's even done villains
effectively. Frugal Luker and Kim Possible. Oh,
yeah. The greedy fast food mogul. See? He can
use that voice for avarice just as easily as
for heartwarming sacrifice. It's remarkably flexible.
And animals. He seems to voice a lot of animals.
He really does. Pongo and Oswald, that was a
kid's show back in the early 2000s. Roger the
Alligator and the Penguins of Madagascar. He
was in quite a few of those. With amazing episode
titles like Haunted Habitat and April Fool. Can't
forget Larry the Anaconda in the Wild. And way
back, he was Tom in Tom and Jerry, the movie.
Even recent, more niche stuff keeps him in the
game, like voicing a dupler on Star Trek. Lower
Decks. His voice is just everywhere. And not
just in character roles, it's a commodity. Right.
He narrated Disney's Go Baby. And commercials.
He was the spokesman for Encore Frozen Foods
for a while. Lending that friendly, familiar
voice to... You know, frozen lasagna. And more
recently, in 2021, he narrated commercials for
Freestyle Libre, the glucose monitoring device.
So his voice carries this inherent sense of familiarity,
maybe even trust. It's instantly recognizable.
Absolutely ubiquitous. OK, but we can't just
talk TV and voice. We have to shift to the medium
that arguably showcases his depth and discipline
most. The stage. Yes. Because it's easy to just
think of him as the sitcom guy or the voice guy,
but his Broadway credentials are real and significant.
This feels like where that rigorous training,
maybe even going back to Second City, really
pays off. It's crucial for you, the listener,
to know he's not just a screen actor. The stage
seems fundamental to him. He has major Broadway
credits. Let's list some. Okay. The Tale of the
Allergist's Wife in 2000, then The Producers
in 2002, and Sly Fox in 2004. All big, high -profile
shows demanding roles that need serious stage
presence and stamina. And his connection to The
Producers is deep. He was in that 2002 Broadway
run. But then later he actually played the lead
role, Max Bilstock, right? Yeah. In a big Hollywood
Bowl production in 2012, Max Bilstock is a monster
role. Requires huge energy, physical comedy,
singing. And he was also in the movie adaptation.
Played the jury foreman in the 2005 film. So
he's been involved with that property across
stage and screen and different capacities. Speaks
to his versatility even within one world. He
also has a connection to Stephen Sondheim, which
is serious musical theater cred. A significant
one. He actually created the role of Addison
Mizner in Sondheim's show Bounce. Wow. Originating
a Sondheim role. And he also tackled Pseudolus
in a force. A funny thing happened on the way
to the forum. Another iconic, difficult role.
These aren't simple parts. They demand real craft.
And all this stage work, this commitment, it
led to major recognition, didn't it? Specifically
for a play in 2013. Yes. This is arguably the
peak of his dramatic stage career so far. His
performance as Marcus Hoff in the revival of
Clifford Odette's classic play, The Big Knife.
Marcus Hoff. Who is he in the play? He's the
manipulative, utterly ruthless studio executive.
A really dark, powerful character. And that role
got him nominated for a Tony Award. Nominated
for Best Featured Actor in a Play. which is huge.
But here's the key detail for you, the learner.
While he was nominated for the Tony, he won the
Drama Desk Award for the same role. Oh, okay.
And the Drama Desk Awards are highly respected,
often seen as more focused purely on the performance
itself, right? Exactly. Winning that for playing
such a morally corrupt, intense character, again,
a universe away from Dr. Davina or even Paul
Lasseter, it just solidified his status as an
actor capable of profound dramatic depth on stage.
Okay, let's carry that dramatic weight over to
his film work. Because while comedy might be
his calling card for many, he's been in some
serious, prestigious films. Definitely. often
tackling heavy themes, even within comedies.
Way back, he had a small but, like, functionally
important role in the original Stargate movie
in 1994. Right, Gary Myers, the archaeologist
who does the initial translation of the symbols.
He's basically the exposition guy before Daniel
Jackson takes over. A quick role, but shows he
was in the mix for big -budget sci -fi early
on. But if you want to see his real dramatic
chops on film, you have to talk about the Coen
brothers, a serious man from 2009. Oh, absolutely.
His role is Arthur Gopnik. Arthur, Larry Gopnik's
brother, living on his couch, deeply troubled,
physically unwell. With that, that cyst on his
neck, he keeps draining. It's such a visceral,
uncomfortable detail. It really is. And Arthur
is just this bundle of misery and bad decisions,
stealing money, writing his nonsensical probability
map, the mentaculous. Kind had to embody this
profound vulnerability, this sadness, this physical
and moral decay. It's such a stark contrast to
his usual energetic persona. And it fit perfectly
into that Coen Brothers landscape of existential
dread and dark humor. It's an incredible performance.
And the ensemble work in that film was widely
recognized. Yeah. the cast got nominations for
best ensemble from the Gotham Awards and the
Boston Society of Film Critics, and they won
the Independent Spirit Robert Altman Award in
2010, which specifically honors a director and
the ensemble cast. So again, recognition for
fitting seamlessly into a high art, serious,
dramatic piece. Yeah. Just like he fits into
a sitcom. He followed that up with more solid
film roles. He played Max Klein, the screenwriter
character, in Argo in 2012. Right, the Ben Affleck
film. And more recently, showing he can work
with today's most distinct voices, he had a strong
supporting role in Ari Aster's Bo is Afraid in
2023. Which was certainly a unique film. This
is his ability to handle the quirky and the intense.
And this filmography, especially roles like Argo,
brings us to maybe his most famous collaborator,
both professionally and personally. George Clooney.
George Clooney. Their connection runs deep. Professionally,
Kind was in Clooney's directorial debut, Confessions
of a Dangerous Mind, played a casting director.
And remember that HBO series, Unscripted, kind
of blurring reality and fiction about actors'
lives? Vaguely, yeah. Executive produced and
directed that with Grant Heslov, and Kind played
himself in it. Ah, interesting. And the Argo
connection, too. Argo was produced by Clooney
and Heslov, which likely helped secure Kind that
role as Max Klein. There's clearly a professional
shorthand, a loyalty there. Which makes perfect
sense, given their shared history. And that history.
Well, it inevitably leads us to the stories everyone
wants to hear. The pranks. Second five. Personal
life and the legendary Clooney anecdotes. Right.
Gotta cover the basics first, though. Personal
life. Kind was married to Dana Stanley from 1999
to 2018. They have three kids, a son, Max, and
two daughters, Samantha and Skylar. And he currently
lives on the Upper West Side in Manhattan. Keeps
that New York theater connection strong. Got
it. Okay. Now, the fun stuff. George Clooney
was best man at Kind's wedding in 99. Which tells
you how close they really were and presumably
still are. But the legendary stories. the ones
that get repeated, mostly come from that period
before Clooney hit it big with ER, when he was
crashing at Kind's place in L .A. Yes, this seems
to be the crucible where Clooney forged his lifelong
dedication to elaborate practical jokes, often
targeted squarely at Richard Kind. And these
weren't just simple gags, were they? They were
campaigns. Oh, absolutely. Sustained psychological
operations disguised as friendship. One of the
big ones was Clooney trying to convince Kine
he was secretly a Jeopardy genius. How did he
even do that? He'd stage it, have someone call
with obscure trivia, or just happen to know incredibly
specific answers when the show was on, just to
mess with Kine's head, make him think his buddy
had this hidden Gernsbackian level of knowledge.
The sheer effort involved. And that wasn't the
only one. Nope. He also pretended to be an aspiring
painter. Seriously. Yeah. Created these bizarre
abstract paintings, left them around the apartment,
talked earnestly about his process, forced kind
into the awkward position of having to comment
on and sort of validate this completely fabricated
artistic talent. It's less like pranking and
more like. performance art aimed at maximum confusion
for an audience of one. Exactly. Which is why
the stories are so funny. It's not really about
cruelty. It's about the absolute commitment to
the bit. The dedication to the chaos. But there's
one anecdote that always comes up. The piece
de resistance of the pranks. The most infamous
one. Yes. The litter box incident. Tell the people.
According to the stories, the culmination of
this prank war involved George Clooney. Well.
defecating in Richard Kind's cat's litter box.
He really did that. Apparently so. The image
is just its peak absurdity. A future Oscar winner,
international superstar, engaging in biological
warfare against his friend's cat's toilet. It
perfectly encapsulates the boundary pushing,
juvenile, yet somehow affectionate nature of
their friendship, right? Totally. And the amazing
thing, when you step back, is that Kind clearly
endured all this. Their friendship survived,
even thrived, while both their careers exploded.
It speaks volumes about Kind's patience, his
resilience, maybe his ability to eventually laugh
it off. Or maybe get his own back in ways we
don't know about. Perhaps. But it definitely
points to a very specific, very strong... bond
forged in those early competitive years. Okay.
So we've covered the background, the massive
TV career, the iconic voice work, the serious
stage and film roles, and the legendary pranks.
Let's try to synthesize this. What's the big
takeaway for the listener here about Richard
Kind? I think the core takeaway is that his career
is ultimately defined by two things. Sheer ubiquity,
just being everywhere, and an absolute mastery
of the essential supporting role. He's the ultimate
character actor chameleon. Exactly. He's the
guy who connects Spin the City's cynical political
world to the absolute emotional devastation of
Bing Bong, to a Tony nominated turn as a ruthless
executive on Broadway, and then to an award winning
part in a Coen Brothers film about existential
dread. It's an incredible thread to follow. And
that recent SAG award for Only Murders just proves
he's still doing it at the highest level. Still
a crucial piece of a top tier ensemble. Absolutely.
So for you, the listener. The lesson from Richard
Kind's career is maybe this. Long -term success
in this crazy industry often isn't just about
chasing the spotlight or the leading role. It's
about cultivating versatility, being incredibly
consistent, and proving yourself utterly dependable
across different platforms. TV, film, stage,
voice. He moves between them seamlessly. His
ability to go from, yeah, heavy stage drama one
month to voicing like a cartoon alligator the
next and be excellent in both. That's the superpower.
It really is a remarkable body of work. OK, that
brings us to our final provocative thought. Something
for you to chew on after this deep dive. Given
those deep roots in Second City improv and the
incredible discipline we know is required for
Broadway performing perfectly night after night.
How much has that theatrical rigor, that focus,
actually enabled his long and varied career in
the much more chaotic, often one -take worlds
of film and TV? Is that stage foundation the
real secret sauce? That's one angle. Or maybe
sticking with the animation. Which of his iconic
voice roles will ultimately be seen as his most
enduring legacy? Is it the heartbreak of Bing
Bong? The nervous energy of Moult? Or maybe the
long -running paternal absurdity of Marty Globerman
on Big Mouth? The answer might genuinely depend
on which generation you ask, which voice first
lodged itself in their memory. Something to definitely
ponder next time you inevitably see his face
or hear that unmistakable voice, which will probably
be very soon. No doubt about it. Thanks for diving
in with us today.