Richard Tuck
Richard James Tuck Jr.
21 Nov 1947 - 12 Apr 2011
Clubs & Associations
Quick Facts
- not to be confused with Richard Tuck (SF), also of Midnight Squares and partner of Neale Grasham
Obituary
El Cerrito amusement park devotee Richard Tuck dies
Richard Tuck, the free-spirited owner of a career placement firm who turned a large part of his office space into a tribute to amusement parks and circuses, died Tuesday at his home in El Cerrito. He was 64.
Tuck, an unconventional and award-winning executive who housed the popular Playland-Not-At-The-Beach "museum of fun" at his San Pablo Avenue office building, had gall bladder cancer that had been diagnosed 14 months earlier, said his longtime business partner Tim Sauer.
As the co-founder 32 years ago of executive recruitment firm Lander International, Tuck oversaw a workplace so popular that it earned him not only the devotion of employees, but also 1998 CEO of the Year honors from Inc. magazine.
"He believed people should follow their passions, that was very important to him," Sauer said. "And even if it cut into work time he knew it would mean quality work."
Playland, named for the long-defunct San Francisco amusement park Tuck enjoyed growing up, was just one example of Tuck following his own passions.
His personal collection of vintage arcade machines, circus and amusement park memorabilia, and other items found a home in the office space about eight years ago and after some bureaucratic navigation, countless hours of work by volunteers and fundraising, opened to the public as a nonprofit attraction in 2008.
"The rest of the world is difficult," Tuck told the Times when Playland opened. "We try to create an alternate universe here."
"When he built Playland he said, 'This is my showcase,' " a reflection of just some of his many interests, Sauer said. "Nothing made him happier than people coming into Playland and leaving with a prize in their arm and a smile on their face."
Tuck, a native of Petaluma who earned bachelor's and master's degrees in English at Sonoma State University, moved to El Cerrito in 1974 and turned his Tamalpais Drive home into an attraction of its own that he dubbed "It Must Be Magic."
As many as 3,000 people a year would come visit his house, which featured displays of his eclectic collections (some of which ended up at Playland), a stage where Tuck would perform magic and a secret passageway that led to a parlor dedicated to Charles Dickens.
Tuck also had a passion for circuses and owned the traveling big top show Circus Chimera for about 10 years.
"He had a knack for having fun, he made his life fun and he wanted other people to have fun, too," Sauer said.
That spirit will live on at Playland, which will continue operation under its devoted crew of volunteers, Sauer said.
No formal memorial service for Tuck is planned.
"We will more likely have some sort of celebration at Playland a month or two down the road," Sauer said.
Tuck is survived by partners Sauer and Frank Biafore.[1]
Memorial Panel
- 4LR | Oaktown 8's
Photos
2005
2006
Photo collage from his Playland website
Sources
- ↑ Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, CA) Thursday, 14 Apr 2011
