Richard Lee Newcomb

Richard Lee Newcomb, Age 81, November 10, 2009. Loving husband of Marie "Jo" of 45 years. Beloved dad of Kim Battle and Constance Malecek. Grandpa of Delaney Battle, Jasen Sack, Ryen Sack and Marcus Malecek and great-grandson Mitchell Sack. Dear brother of the late Marlou Cohagen. There will be a Memorial Service on Saturday, November 21, 2009 at the R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Home, 15451 Farmington Rd., Livonia at 12:00 Noon. Gather with the family from 9:00 AM until time of Service. Memorial Donations are requested to the Parkinson's Foundation. Share a memory of Richard with his family by signing the guestbook. ****************************************************** The following is from an obituary that ran in the Detroit News and Free Press: Longtime Detroit homicide detective Richard Newcomb worked on famous cases, both real and fictional. Mr. Newcomb was involved in the Oakland County child killer investigation and a missing person case that was featured on the television show, "America's Most Wanted." He also was the inspiration for a character that wound up in a book written by famed crime author Elmore "Dutch" Leonard, and appeared in Harrison Ford's 1990 film, "Presumed Innocent." "Harrison Ford came to Detroit looking for locations to film, and my dad ended up as part bodyguard, part tour guide," said his daughter Kim Battle. "He even got a speaking part in the movie." Mr. Newcomb, who worked as a Detroit police officer before moving to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office as an investigator, died of complications from Parkinson's disease Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009, in the Woodhaven Retirement Community in Livonia. He was 81. Born in Toledo in 1928, Mr. Newcomb's family moved to Detroit when he was a child. At age 17, during World War II, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. After the war, he held a few odd jobs before joining the Detroit police force in 1954. He spent 34 years on the force before becoming an investigator for former Wayne County Prosecutor John O'Hair. "The movie 'Presumed Innocent' was about prosecutors, so Harrison Ford went to the Prosecutor's Office and asked my dad to show him the nicer and seedier parts of Detroit," his daughter said. "They did the filming months later; my dad happened to be there while they were shooting a scene in a Detroit bar, and one of the guys filming asked him, 'Hey, do you want to be an extra?' "He was thinking he'd just be sitting there as an extra, but they started putting a microphone on him, and another man said, 'You have a speaking part.' It was a surprise to him." In the movie, Harrison Ford enters the bar and asks Mr. Newcomb, "Hey, Newc, how you doin'?" to which he replies, "Pretty good, Rusty, how are you?" The cameo appearance paid off. "He got paid $3, 000 for that part, and continued receiving residual checks," Battle said. "My mom got a check the other day for 6 cents." Prior to joining the Prosecutor's Office Mr. Newcomb was a sergeant in the Detroit Police's elite murder investigation team, "Squad Seven," which drew the interest of Leonard as he was working on his book "City Primeval." "Elmore Leonard rode with my dad for a while, and his characters in the book are detectives from Squad Seven," his daughter said. Mr. Newcomb retired after a 43-year career in law enforcement and took a job at Marshall Field's. "He helped old ladies with their packages," Battle said. Funeral Home: R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Home and Cremation Services 15451 Farmington Rd. Livonia, MI US 48154