Dick York - Later Years

Later Years

Largely bedridden, York battled not only his back pain but an addiction to prescription pain killers.

In his memoir, The Seesaw Girl and Me, published posthumously, he describes the struggle to break his addiction and to come to grips with the loss of his career. The book is in large part a love letter to his wife, Joan (née Alt), the seesaw girl of the title, who stuck with him through the hard times. York eventually beat his addiction and tried to revive his career. He appeared on several prime-time television series including Simon & Simon and Fantasy Island.

York, once a heavy smoker, spent his final years battling emphysema. While bedridden in his Rockford, Michigan, home, he founded Acting for Life, a private charity to help the homeless and others in need. Using his telephone as his pulpit, York motivated politicians, business people, and the general public to contribute supplies and money.

Despite his suffering, York said, "I've been blessed. I have no complaints. I've been surrounded by people in radio, on stage and in motion pictures and television who love me. The things that have gone wrong have been simply physical things."

York died from complications of emphysema at Blodgett Hospital in East Grand Rapids, Michigan on February 20, 1992. He was 63 years old.

York is buried in Plainfield Cemetery in Rockford, Michigan.