Ronald Dennis Dies: Original Richie Of ‘A Chorus Line’ Was 78

deadline.com:

Ronald Dennis, the Broadway performer who indelibly played dancer “Richie Walters” in the original 1975 cast of A Chorus Line and introduced one of the show’s musical highlights in “Gimme The Ball,” died Dec.

17 following a lengthy illness. He was 78. A longtime advocate for AIDS awareness and charities after being diagnosed HIV-positive in 1984, Dennis served on the Broadway Cares Advisory Council, and was the Senior Advisor for the Black Men’s HIV Medication Adherence Board at APLA/Project Rise.

Dennis had already appeared on Broadway as a dancer in 1964’s Hello, Dolly! starring Pearl Bailey and Micki Grant’s 1972 Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope when his signature role came into his life.

As Richie in A Chorus Line, Dennis recounts how he almost became a kindergarten teacher before opting to follow his dream of dancing.