Richard Kinard Sanders was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to Henry Irvine Sanders, a retired US Army lieutenant-colonel and maths teacher, and his wife Thelma Elizabeth, née Williamson.
After graduating from high school in Kansas, Sanders studied drama at Carnegie Mellon University, later honing his skills in Britain on the Shakespearean stage.
In 1971, his screen career took off when he was cast as Union Army surgeon Charles Augustus Leale in the telemovie They've Killed President Lincoln!
Sanders' short stature, meek demeanour, and geeky looks led to him being typecast as nebbish, ineffectual characters, stuffed shirts, and eggheads.
He became best known to television audiences as the inept, fastidious, ultra-conservative radio anchorman Les Nessman in the CBS sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati, for which he also penned several episodes.
In addition to reprising his character in a sequel from 1991 to 1993, Sanders had a recurring role as overzealous high school guidance counselor Benjamin Beanley in the sitcom Spencer from 1984.
He featured in numerous guest spots on prime time TV shows of the 1970s and 1980s, including McCloud, Lou Grant, Kojak, The Rockford Files, and Simon & Simon.
For the animated superhero series InHumanoids from 1986, Sanders provided the voice of engineer Dr. Derek Ericson Bright.
Sanders retired from acting in 2006 and is said to be residing in Woodinville, Washington, with his wife, script supervisor Marilynn Marko-Sanders.
