---
name: "Larry Riley"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/larry-riley"
roles: []
born: "20 June 1952"
died: "6 June 1992"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-20T06:44:59.879834+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Larry Riley

Actor. Born 20 June 1952 in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Died 6 June 1992.

## Details

- **Born:** 20 June 1952, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
- **Died:** 6 June 1992
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Riley_(actor), https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3827166, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0727104/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1221666

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*A Soldier's Story*](https://film.one/film/a-soldiers-story.md) (76)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Larry Riley (1952–1992) was an American actor and musician. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, he began acting in high school and studied drama at Memphis State University. He made his professional stage debut in 1971 and appeared in numerous Broadway and off-Broadway productions, including *A Broadway Musical*, *I Love My Wife* and *Big River*.

Riley originated the role of C.J. Memphis in the off-Broadway play *A Soldier's Play* (1981), winning a Clarence Derwent Award and an Obie Award; he reprised it in the 1984 film *A Soldier's Story*. He is also known for playing Frank Williams on the television series *Knots Landing* (1988–1992), the show's first regular African American cast member. Other credits include episodes of *Miami Vice* (1984), *The Twilight Zone* (1985) and *Hill Street Blues* (1982), and the series *Stir Crazy* (1985).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *A Soldier's Story* (1984), Fi1m 76, as C.J. Memphis — [page](https://film.one/film/a-soldiers-story.md)

## Complete filmography (15)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Polly: Comin' Home!* (1990), as Reverend Gillis
- *Polly* (1989), as Reverend Gillis
- *Unconquered* (1989), as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
- *Dead Solid Perfect* (1988), as Spec
- *Long Gone* (1987), as Joe Louis Brown
- *One Police Plaza* (1986), as Det. Starling
- *The Twilight Zone* (1985), series, as (segment "Quarantine")
- *Spenser: For Hire* (1985), series, Actor
- *Stir Crazy* (1985), series, Actor
- *Badge of the Assassin* (1985), as Herman Bell
- *Miami Vice* (1984), series, as Detective Bobby Price — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/tv/miami-vice.md)
- *A Soldier's Story* (1984), as C.J. Memphis — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/a-soldiers-story.md)
- *Crackers* (1984), as Boardwalk
- *Hill Street Blues* (1981), series, Actor — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/tv/hill-street-blues.md)
- *Knots Landing* (1979), series, as Frank Williams

## Awards

### Other awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- Soap Opera Digest Awards 1990: Soap Opera Digest Awards (nominated)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/larry-riley