Early life

He was born in Frankfurt, Germany, the son of American parents, Carl Mayo Lineback (1922-2004) and Dorothy Anne Darnall (1923-2008). His siblings are Robert B. Lineback (born 1953) and Carol A. Lineback (born 1955). His father was a physician and an officer in the U.S. Army assigned to the 97th General Hospital in Frankfurt. When he retired from active military service, in 1965, Dr. Lineback relocated with his family to Austin, Texas, where he established a private practice.

Richard Lineback graduated from John H. Reagan High School in Austin, Texas, in 1970. While in high school, he appeared in several student theatrical productions. After high school, he attended the University of Texas at Austin. He moved to Los Angeles, California, where he pursued an acting career.

Career

In 1975, Lineback joined the Colony Theatre Company, in Burbank, and was in the cast of the play The Grass Harp. Among the many productions he has appeared in, his roles include Eugene Gant in Look Homeward, Angel, Tom Joad in The Grapes of Wrath, C.C. Showers in The Diviners, for which he won the Drama-Logue Award for Outstanding Actor, Dan White in Execution of Justice, and the title role in Mister Roberts.

His film debut was in the role as Steve Estes in the biopic/drama Joni (1980), the story of Joni Eareckson. He played Larry in the western/drama Hard Country (1981) with Jan-Michael Vincent and Kim Basinger. Lineback then played Deputy Dodd in the slasher/horror film Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985).

His numerous television guest appearances include roles in episodes of The Love Boat, M*A*S*H, The Waltons, Crazy Like a Fox, T. J. Hooker, Knight Rider, Matlock, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Hunter, China Beach, Dallas, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, NYPD Blue, Touched by an Angel, Star Trek: Enterprise and JAG. He also played the role as Billy in the Incident In a Small Jail segment of the television film Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1985). He also played scheming businessman Wally Butler in the 1986 TV film Return to Mayberry.

Lineback played the role as Al LeFauve in the world premiere stage production of Baby Dance, co-starring Linda Purl and Stephanie Zimbalist, at the Pasadena Playhouse, for which he was nominated for the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Actor. He later reprised the role at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, in Massachusetts, and the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven.

In the film Natural Born Killers (1994), Lineback's character, Sonny, was the first redneck to be shot to death by the murderous couple, Mickey Knox (played by Woody Harrelson) and Mallory Knox (played by Juliette Lewis). In Twister (1996), his character Mr. Thornton (Jo Harding's father) was the victim of a raging tornado. He played an FBI special agent, McMurphy, in the crime/thriller The Jackal (1997), with Bruce Willis, Richard Gere, and Sidney Poitier.

Lineback recreated his role as Al LeFauve for the Showtime film The Baby Dance (1998) co-starring Stockard Channing and Laura Dern. In the horror film The Ring (2002) with Naomi Watts and Martin Henderson, Lineback played the innkeeper.

He resides in Los Angeles.

Filmography

Title	Release	Genre	Role
Joni	1980	Biopic/Drama	Steve Estes
Hard Country	1981	Western/Drama	Larry
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning	1985	Slasher/Horror	Deputy Dodd
Stewardess School	1986	Action/Comedy	Sgt. Striker
Beyond the Next Mountain	1987	Adventure/Drama	Mr. Young Man
Sommersby	1993	Mystery/Romance	Timothy Fry
Speed	1994	Action/Thriller	Sergeant Norwood
Natural Born Killers	1994	Crime	Sonny
Twister	1996	Action/Adventure	Mr. Thornton
Tin Cup	1996	Comedy/Romance	Curt
After the Game	1997	Drama/Mystery	Slim, the Bartender
The Jackal	1997	Crime/Thriller	FBI Special Agent McMurphy
Hush	1998	Drama/Thriller	Hal Bentall
Meet the Deedles	1998	Comedy	Mr. Crabbe
Varsity Blues	1999	Comedy/Sport	Joe Harbor
Ready to Rumble	2000	Comedy/Sport	Mr. Boggs
The Ring	2002	Horror/Thriller	Innkeeper

TV Roles

Title	Aired	Genre	Role
"M*A*S*H"	1979	Comedy	Private Eddie Scala
Riding for the Pony Express	1980	Western	Willy Gomes
Gideon's Trumpet	1980	Drama	Lester Wade
Death Ray 2000	1981	Action/Fantasy	U.S. Army enlisted man
Johnny Belinda	1982	Drama	Dan
M*A*S*H	1982; episode: Trick or Treatment	Comedy	Pvt. Scala
Ghost Dancing	1983	Drama	Brian
Fatal Vision	1984	Drama	MP Captain
Return to Mayberry	1986	Comedy	Wally Butler
Inherit the Wind	1988	Drama	Sillers
Blind Vengeance	1990	Drama	Edwin "Ed" Rentzell
Woman with a Past	1992	Drama	Wayne
Somebody's Daughter	1992	Crime/Drama	Fielder
The Stand	1994	Horror/Fantasy	Poke
The Baby Dance	1998	Drama	Al LeFauve
The King of Texas	2002	Western/Drama	Warnell
McBride: Dogged	2007	Mystery	Frank Sinclair

[ Source: Wikipedia ]