In his 90s and feelin’ fine
Life for actor Richard Lee, 92, still very much a bowl of cherries
Local actor Richard Lee knows when to insert a pithy quote.
One of his favorites is from Oscar Wilde: “Life is too important to be taken seriously.”
A life mingled with joy and grief, Lee holds on to the silver lining as he looks ahead. Having fun is an important part of his own philosophy.
Having recently purchased a red Corvette and found himself a new dog, Lee is one busy, productive, cheerful guy, and life — at age 92 — is still very much a bowl of cherries.
“He’s everyone’s favorite person,” said daughter, Monica Lee. “He is quite an inspiration, and he’s having a fun time. He’s perfectly healthy and he’s doing great. He’s very much like Betty White.”
One of Lee’s personal favorite quotes is from George Herbert, who said “In age, I bud again.”
In full flower
As a man in his 90s, Lee is in full flower.
Born in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, he lives in Flourtown, Montgomery County. It’s just north of the city, Lee said, adding that he’s lived in the same house since 1960.
Recently, Lee finished writing his memoirs.
No stranger to writing, Lee and his late wife had written more than 20 nonfiction reference books over the years, many of them for high school students, such as “Careers for Car Buffs and Other Free-wheeling Types.”
Lee retired just last year from a career in advertising and promotional writing, having started in the 1950s at ad agencies in and around Philadelphia.
A member of Toastmasters International, Lee has also been the subject of a number of podcasts.
“The present is very active,” he said.
In 1945, Lee was drafted five days before the end of World War II.
He became a second lieutenant, serving in Tokyo after the war, in charge of repairing utilities.
“It was very transformative for a 19-year-old kid,” Lee said of his military time.
A 1951 graduate of the College of William and Mary with a degree in English, Lee said he wasn’t looking forward to a career in teaching, and felt like he had no prospects.
“I was pretty good in school, but too busy with extracurricular activities to be an academian,” Lee said. “A fellow student and I wrote a college musical comedy called ‘The Backdrop Club.’ A frat brother and I did the script.”
Acting avocation
The enjoyment he found in that endeavor pointed the way to an acting avocation.
Lee wrote for the college’s literary magazine, becoming the editor in his senior year.
“Since I decided I didn’t want to be a teacher, I wound up in advertising and worked for seven different ad agencies in and around Philadelphia,” Lee said. “In its way, it was a great life.”
In 1989, at the age of 30, Lee left advertising, saying it was a young people’s game.
But when asked for help by a friend, Lee did some freelance advertising, turning it into a career he stayed with for the next 30 years.
Of his business associate, Lee said: “He’s a youngster. He’s only 72.”
That was one career, Lee said, and the other was a combination career with his wife, Mary Price Lee.
“Between us, we wrote 21 books over 35 years: all career and copy books for high schools,” Lee said. “It was not your bestseller type of book. Most were sold to school directors and high -school counselors.
“They were modest sales, but they helped pay the rent,” Lee said. “So that was my second track of employment.”
A member of the Classic Car Club of America, he has also been a judge at several car shows.
Lee has owned more than 40 vintage automobiles — one at a time, he adds — and has been in more than 40 plays, so far.
“I’ve been interested in theater all my life and wanted to be a part of the theater, but I didn’t want to starve in New York while waiting on tables and waiting for that big part to come,” Lee said. Theater group Instead, he poured his creative spirit into an allvolunteer theater group.
“We don’t get paid, but, boy, do we have fun,” Lee said. “We do some pretty good plays and have done over 45 plays.
“I like comedy and I have a flair for comedy,” Lee said. “I love entertaining people, if I can. I’ve played just about everything under the sun, but with an emphasis on comedy.”
When Lee’s wife, Mary, became ill, and passed six years ago, the world got dark for awhile.
“Since she passed away, life has changed a lot,” Lee said. “That put a stop to theater, at least for the past several years. I couldn’t make the rehearsals because of Mary’s illness.
“Our three children had grown and flown, but fortunately, they all live within 15 miles. They are a big part of my support system,” Lee said. “Loneliness can be a big problem for older people, but it’s a problem I don’t have because I’ve formulated my own network.”
Over the years, he’s lost a lot of friends, Monica said, but then he’s made new ones.
“As people pass, you don’t have any choice,” Monica said. “You either stay melancholy or you move on, so he’s made new friends.”
Richard and Mary had been married for 58 years at the time of her passing.
“Since my wife’s death, I’ve had to re-invent my life, and so I have a large support system of friends,” Lee said. “We had a wonderful life and I enjoyed a great deal of it.
“I came to grips with the fact that she was much more a ‘people person’ than I was. I’ve tried to emulate her character as a way of keeping her with me,” he said. Support network Lee’s support network includes son Richard “Rick” Manning Lee, recently retired from the grocery business; daughter Barbara, an activist and fundraiser; and daughter Monica, who started her own business, a wholesaling company; and one granddaughter.
Last spring, Lee tried out for Agatha Christie’s “Witness For The Prosecution.”
“I didn’t get the part, so I got myself a dog,” Lee said. “Sylvia is a six-year-old rescue and she’s my buddy.”
He’s also part of a group that meets to read plays, saying: “If we can’t act in them, we can read them.”
“He’s in tons of activities,” Monica said. “He’s always double-booked; he’s very popular.”
Lee enjoys watching vintage films and driving his 1992 bright red convertible.
“One of my mantras is: ‘Do what you did yesterday, because, essentially, if you can do what you did yesterday, today, then you should be able to do it again tomorrow!” Lee said.
Lee does his own housework, does some yoga and stretching at home, and walks the dog religiously, he said.
“So I get a good bit of exercise,” he said. “I also eat a lot of salads: You don’t have to heat them and they’re easy to fix. And I pay attention to nutrition and keep my weight down.”
“I’m still able to drive and getting around is very important: It’s a gift,” Lee said. “I know how slender is the thread I hang by.
He’s acted in major roles recently at Allens Lane Art Center Theater in Philadelphia.
“So my life at this stage is doing what I did yesterday and trying to add a little to it,” Lee said. “I was fortunate recently to get a part as a geezer in ‘You Can’t Take It With You.’ -I played Grandpa and I enjoyed it immensely, because I like to leave ‘em laughing.”