Richard Lee Rykoff; Attorney Fought McCarthyism

Richard Lee Rykoff, 75, a Los Angeles attorney who defended film stars in the anti-communism McCarthy era. He was educated at UCLA and Harvard Law School, where he was editor of the Law Review. After studying Japanese, Rykoff served as an interpreter and translator for Adm. Chester Nimitz during World War II. During the 1950s, the lifelong liberal lawyer defended Van Heflin, Lloyd Gough and other members of the film industry who were questioned by the House Un-American Activities Committee. From 1985 until his retirement in 1990, Rykoff taught professional ethics and preventive law at UC Santa Clara School of Law and directed the school’s summer program in Tokyo. He received the Edwin J. Owens Lawyer of the Year Award in 1990. On Dec. 11 in Santa Clara.