{
  "id": 15652402,
  "title": "Richard Riehle Dies: ‘Office Space’ & ‘Bridesmaids’ Actor Was 78",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/richard-riehle-dies-office-space-bridesmaids-actor-was-78",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-19T20:51:49.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Deadline",
    "slug": "deadline",
    "url": "https://deadline.com/2026/10/richard-riehle-dead-office-space-actor-1237168053/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Character actor Richard Riehle has died at the age of 78. According to Variety, he died of natural causes on Oct. 15 in Los Angeles. TheWrap reports that TMZ was the first to report the news.\n\nRiehle was best known for his role as Tom Smykowski, a cynical Initech product manager in the Mike Judge comedy Office Space. His extensive screen career included appearances in Casino, Bridesmaids, Glory, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, The Fugitive, and various Star Trek shows, according to Rolling Stone and The Hollywood Reporter. Deadline notes he also appeared in The Man From Earth.\n\nBorn in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, on May 12, 1948, Riehle was the son of Mary Margaret Walsh and Herbert John Riehle. TheWrap states he graduated cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in 1970 with a degree in speech and drama. He later studied German in Austria and received theatrical training at the John Fernald Academy of Dramatic Art in Rochester, Michigan.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 10,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Consequence",
        "title": "Richard Riehle, Office Space’s Tom Smykowski, Dead at 78",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/richard-riehle-office-spaces-tom-smykowski-dead-at-78",
        "published": "2026-10-19T17:54:39.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "TVLine",
        "title": "Richard Riehle, Office Space Actor, Dead At 78",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/richard-riehle-office-space-actor-dead-at-78",
        "published": "2026-10-19T18:38:11.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Forbes",
        "title": "Richard Riehle, ‘Office Space’ And ‘The Fugitive’ Actor, Dies At 78",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/richard-riehle-office-space-and-the-fugitive-actor-dies-at-78",
        "published": "2026-10-19T18:53:40.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The A.V. Club",
        "title": "R.I.P. Richard Riehle, Office Space actor",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/r-i-p-richard-riehle-office-space-actor",
        "published": "2026-10-19T19:14:14.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Variety",
        "title": "Richard Riehle, Character Actor in ‘Office Space,’ ‘Star Trek,’ ‘Bridesmaids’ and More, Dies at 78",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/richard-riehle-character-actor-in-office-space-star-trek-bridesmaids",
        "published": "2026-10-19T19:17:38.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Rolling Stone",
        "title": "Richard Riehle, Character Actor and ‘Office Space’ Scene-Stealer, Dead at 78",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/richard-riehle-character-actor-and-office-space-scene-stealer-dead-at",
        "published": "2026-10-19T20:09:22.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "TheWrap",
        "title": "Richard Riehle, ‘Office Space’ Actor, Dies at 78",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/richard-riehle-office-space-actor-dies-at-78-15652125",
        "published": "2026-10-19T20:09:44.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Hollywood Reporter",
        "title": "Richard Riehle, ‘Office Space’ Actor, Dies at 78",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/richard-riehle-office-space-actor-dies-at-78",
        "published": "2026-10-19T20:17:41.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "ABC News (US)",
        "title": "Richard Riehle, actor in 'Glory' and 'Office Space,' dies",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/richard-riehle-actor-in-glory-and-office-space-dies",
        "published": "2026-10-19T23:49:31.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}