NEW YORK -- Richard Kiley, who was Broadway's original "Man of La Mancha" and had countless other roles on TV, in movies and on the stage, died Friday at 76.
Kiley, who died in Warwick, N.Y., was a strong-voiced baritone who became of one of Broadway's stalwart leading men in musicals and dramas of the 1950s and '60s.It was in "La Mancha" that Kiley, singing "The Impossible Dream," had his biggest success. He won a Tony Award for his role as Don Quixote in the musical, which opened in 1965 and ran for more than five years. He returned to Broadway in revivals of the show in 1972 and 1977.
The actor also won a Tony for his performance in "Redhead," a Victorian murder-mystery musical that starred Gwen Verdon and was directed by Bob Fosse.
On television, Kiley appeared in "The Thorn Birds," one of the most successful miniseries of all time, and won an Emmy Award for playing an Australian sheep farmer. He also won Emmys for the TV series "A Year in the Life," which lasted only a year on NBC, and for "Picket Fences."
Among the movies in which he appeared were "The Blackboard Jungle," "The Little Prince," "Looking for Mr. Goodbar," "Endless Love" and "Patch Adams."
Kiley was born in Chicago and studied at Loyola University and Barnum Dramatic School.