Richard Bruce Hyde

1941 - 2015

Richard Bruce Hyde, 74

St. Cloud

Sept. 14, 1941 - Oct. 13, 2015

Richard Bruce Hyde, an actor best known for his role as Kevin Riley in the original "Star Trek" television series, and for the past twenty five years a university professor, died peacefully on October 13, at Quiet Oaks Hospice, surrounded by his family. He was 74. Mr. Hyde, who went by Bruce, was born to Rufus and Edna Hyde of Dallas, Texas, on September 14, 1941. His mother was a teacher in Mesquite, Texas, and his father was head football coach at North Dallas High School, where Mr. Hyde graduated in 1959.

Mr. Hyde was an English major at Northwestern University, where he took acting classes and became active in theatre. After his graduation in 1963, he appeared on Broadway in "Canterbury Tales" and performed in numerous summer stock theatres in various locations. Mr. Hyde eventually moved from New York City to Los Angeles, where he was under contract to DesiLu Studios and appeared in "The Beverly Hillbillies," "That Girl," and several episodes of "Dr. Kildare." His most noteworthy role was in two episodes of "Star Trek" entitled "The Naked Time" and "The Conscience of the King," in which he played Lt. Kevin Riley.

During the 1970s Mr. Hyde lived in San Francisco, where he starred as Berger in a stage production of "Hair" at the Geary Theatre. He left acting to work for several years painting Victorian era homes, lived out of a Volkswagen van for a year, then moved to Nashville where he wrote and performed music.

Mr. Hyde returned to academia in the 1980s. He earned a Masters degree in Communication Studies from North Texas State University in 1984, and a Ph.D. in Rhetoric from the University of Southern California in 1990. He then joined the faculty at St. Cloud State University, in Minnesota, and taught there until his retirement this year. Mr. Hyde revived his acting career during this time, performing on numerous stages in the Twin Cities area. His academic interests were in the study of dialogue, Martin Heidegger's contributions to communication theory, and ontological rhetoric.

Mr. Hyde was coauthor of a book that will be published posthumously. "Speaking Being" emerged from Mr. Hyde's decades long commitment to the method of inquiry developed by Werner Erhard, first in EST and later in the Landmark Forum, and from his Ph.D. dissertation and several scholarly papers that examined Erhard's "ontological" communication, which was marked by an effort to move beyond conceptual knowledge to an authentic inquiry into human being. Mr. Hyde incorporated his ideas about dialogue and ontological communication into his classes. He was an award winning teacher and a respected colleague.

Mr. Hyde, who died from throat cancer, is survived by his wife, Dr. Susan Saetre, two stepchildren, Ben (Sabrina) and Tim Saetre grand-daughter Joliva Jacobs, and by his sister, Janie Hyde Miller, and her husband Riley. The family wants to acknowledge the extraordinary care he received from the Mayo Clinic, the CentraCare Hospice Team, and the outstanding staff at Quiet Oaks. Services will be private. Stories and tributes are welcomed to be shared on www.caringbridge.org/visit/brucehyde