Ric Jury acted in dozens of films,  commercials and plays.
Ric Jury acted in dozens of films, commercials and plays.

Actor Ric Jury, who did everything from major theater work to commercials for cars and Clorox, died July 24. He was 82.

Services are 3 p.m. today at Bullock Mortuary, 1375 E. Hampden Ave., in Englewood.

Jury had guest spots on such diverse productions as "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Inherit the Wind." He worked on Broadway and in local theaters across the country, including the Arvada Theater.

"He had remarkable talent," said Bev Newcomb, who has directed plays in the Denver area for years and directed Jury in several.

"He could do comedy or drama equally well, but not musicals. He was a terrible singer," Newcomb said.

Jury was well-known in Denver for award-winning commercials, including those for Hugh Tighe Skyline Dodge, General Mills, Schlitz, Ajax and Clorox.

He appeared in dozens of films with well-known stars, from Shirley MacLaine to Jane Fonda, and television shows, including "Perry Mason," "The Addams Family," "Gunsmoke" and "McHale's Navy."

Friends and family said he was unbelievable at memorizing lines. Sometimes, he would be involved in "three sets of lines a day": a rehearsal in the afternoon, a performance for another show in the evening and a future show he was working on, and he would never forget the lines for any of them, said his daughter Lizzie Satriano of Denver.

Jury knew he wanted to act from childhood. He made his first stage appearance when he was 3 1/2 years old, said his wife, Liz Jury. He recited a poem.

His given name was Carroll R. Satriano, but he was told as a young actor in New York that the name "was too ethnic," said his wife. He picked "Jury" a few minutes later after seeing the name on a passing truck, she said. "His name was too long for the marquee anyway," she said.

"Ric was a tremendous talent," said Fred Arthur, a local producer, writer and actor for radio and TV commercials. "He had no ego, and when he stepped into a role, there was no one better at it. He was a dual force: He had the voice and the facial expressions."

Satriano was born in Denver on Oct. 26, 1926, and studied theater and philosophy at the University of Denver. He married Liz Dalton in 1954.

In addition to his wife and daughter, Jury is survived by three other daughters: Claudia Satriano and Pam Stephens, both of Imperial Beach, Calif., and Cindy Satriano of Albuquerque; and two sons: Michael Satriano and Christopher Satriano, both of Denver; five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Virginia Culver: 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com