Famous Richards
Other related names will be included such as: Rick, Rich, Ricky, Richie, Dick, Dickie, and other related names.
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- Actor
- Producer
- Music Department
Humanitarian and actor Richard Gere was born on August 31, 1949, in Philadelphia, the second of five children of Doris Anna (Tiffany), a homemaker, and Homer George Gere, an insurance salesman, both Mayflower descendants. Richard started early as a musician, playing a number of instruments in high school and writing music for high school productions. He graduated from North Syracuse Central High School in 1967, and won a gymnastics scholarship to the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, where he majored in philosophy. He left college after two years to pursue acting, landing a lead role in the London production of the rock musical "Grease" in 1973. The following year he would be in other plays, such as "Taming of the Shrew." Onscreen, he had a few roles, and gained recognition in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977). Offscreen, he spent 1978 meeting Tibetans when he traveled to Nepal, where he spoke to many monks and lamas. Returning to the US, on Broadway he portrayed a concentration-camp prisoner in "Bent," for which he received the 1980 Theatre World Award. Back in Hollywood, he played the title role in American Gigolo (1980), establishing himself as a major star; this status was reaffirmed by An Officer and a Gentleman (1982). In the early 1980s, Richard went to Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador (amidst ongoing wars and political violence); he traveled with a doctor and visited refugee camps. It is said that Richard was romantically linked with Tuesday Weld, Priscilla Presley, Barbra Streisand and Kim Basinger. In 1990 Richard teamed up with Julia Roberts to star in the blockbuster Pretty Woman (1990); his cool reserve was the perfect complement to Julia's bubbling enthusiasm. The film captured the nation's heart, and won the People's Choice award for Best Movie. Fans clamored for years for a sequel, or at least another pairing of Julia and Richard. They got that with Runaway Bride (1999), which was a runaway success (Richard got $12 million, Julia made $17 million, the box office was $152 million, which shows what happens when you give the public what it wants!). Offscreen, Richard and Cindy Crawford got married December 12, 1991 (they were divorced in 1995). Afterwards, Richard started dating actress Carey Lowell. They had a son, Homer James Jigme Gere, on February 6, 2000. Richard was picked by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world in 1991, and as their Sexiest Man Alive in 1999. He is an accomplished pianist and music writer. Above all, Richard is a humanitarian. He's a founding member of "Tibet House," a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of Tibetan culture. He has been an active supporter of "Survival International" for several years, a worldwide organization supporting tribal peoples, affirming their right to decide their own future and helping them protect their lives, lands and human rights (these tribes are global, including the natives of the Amazon, the Maasai of East Africa, the Wichi of Argentina, and others). In 1994 Richard went to London to open Harrods' sale, donating his £50,000 appearance fee to Survival. He has been prominent in their charity advertising campaigns.Actor
Career Highlights:
Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977)
American Gigolo (1980)
An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)
The Cotton Club (1984)
King David (1985)
Internal Affairs (1990)
Final Analysis (1992)
Sommersby (1993)
Chicago (2002)
3-time Golden Globe Nominee
SAG Award Winner (Chicago)
2-time Satellite Award Nominee- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Richard Attenborough, Baron Attenborough of Richmond-upon-Thames, was born in Cambridge, England, the son of Mary (née Clegg), a founding member of the Marriage Guidance Council, and Frederick Levi Attenborough, a scholar and academic administrator who was a don at Emmanuel College and wrote a standard text on Anglo-Saxon law. The family later moved to Leicester where his father was appointed Principal of the university while Richard was educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys in Leicester and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).
His film career began with a role as a deserting sailor in In Which We Serve (1942), a part that contributed to his being typecast for many years as a coward in films like Dulcimer Street (1948), Operation Disaster (1950) and his breakthrough role as a psychopathic young gangster in the film adaptation of Graham Greene's novel, Brighton Rock (1948). During World War II, Attenborough served in the Royal Air Force.
He worked prolifically in British films for the next 30 years, and in the 1950s appeared in several successful comedies for John Boulting and Roy Boulting, including Private's Progress (1956) and I'm All Right Jack (1959). Early in his stage career, Attenborough starred in the London West End production of Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap", which went on to become one of the world's longest-running stage productions. Both he and his wife were among the original cast members of the production, which opened in 1952 and (as of 2007) is still running.
In the 1960s, he expanded his range of character roles in films such as Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964) and Guns at Batasi (1964), for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the regimental Sergeant Major. He appeared in the ensemble cast of The Great Escape (1963), as Squadron Leader "Roger Bartlett" ("Big X"), the head of the escape committee.
In 1967 and 1968, he won back-to-back Golden Globe Awards in the category of Best Supporting Actor, the first time for The Sand Pebbles (1966), starring Steve McQueen, and the second time for Doctor Dolittle (1967), starring Rex Harrison. He would win another Golden Globe for Best Director, for Gandhi (1982), in 1983. Six years prior to "Gandhi", he played the ruthless "Gen. Outram" in Indian director Satyajit Ray's period piece, The Chess Players (1977). He has never been nominated for an Academy Award in an acting category.
He took no acting roles following his appearance in Otto Preminger's The Human Factor (1979), until his appearance as the eccentric developer "John Hammond" in Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park (1993). The following year, he starred as "Kris Kringle" in Miracle on 34th Street (1994), a remake of the 1947 classic. Since then, he has made occasional appearances in supporting roles, including the historical drama, Elizabeth (1998), as "Sir William Cecil".
In the late 1950s, Attenborough formed a production company, "Beaver Films", with Bryan Forbes and began to build a profile as a producer on projects, including The League of Gentlemen (1960), The Angry Silence (1960) and Whistle Down the Wind (1961), also appearing in the first two of these as an actor.
His feature film directorial debut was the all-star screen version of the hit musical, Oh! What a Lovely War (1969), and his acting appearances became more sporadic - the most notable being his portrayal of serial killer "John Christie" in 10 Rillington Place (1971). He later directed two epic period films: Young Winston (1972), based on the early life of Winston Churchill, and A Bridge Too Far (1977), an all-star account of Operation Market Garden in World War II. He won the 1982 Academy Award for Directing for his historical epic, Gandhi (1982), a project he had been attempting to get made for many years. As the film's producer, he also won the Academy Award for Best Picture. His most recent films, as director and producer, include Chaplin (1992), starring Robert Downey Jr. as Charles Chaplin, and Shadowlands (1993), based on the relationship between C.S. Lewis and Joy Gresham. Both films starred Anthony Hopkins, who also appeared in three other films for Attenborough: "Young Winston", "A Bridge Too Far" and the thriller, Magic (1978).
Attenborough also directed the screen version of the hit Broadway musical, "A Chorus Line" (A Chorus Line (1985)), and the apartheid drama, Cry Freedom (1987), based on the experiences of Donald Woods. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Director for both films. His most recent film as director was another biographical film, Grey Owl (1999), starring Pierce Brosnan.
Attenborough is the President of RADA, Chairman of Capital Radio, President of BAFTA, President of the Gandhi Foundation, and President of the British National Film and Television School. He is also a vice patron of the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund.
He is also the patron of the UWC movement (United World Colleges), whereby he continually contributes greatly to the colleges that are part of the organization. He has frequented the United World College of Southern Africa(UWCSA) Waterford Kamhlaba. His wife and he founded the "Richard and Sheila Attenborough Visual Arts Center". He also founded the "Jane Holland Creative Center for Learning" at Waterford Kamhlaba in Swaziland in memory of his daughter, who died in the Tsunami on Boxing Day, 2004. He passionately believes in education, primarily education that does not judge upon color, race, creed or religion. His attachment to Waterford is his passion for non-racial education, which were the grounds on which Waterford Kamhlaba was founded. Waterford was one of his inspirations for directing Cry Freedom (1987), based on the life of Steve Biko.
He was elected to the post of Chancellor of the University of Sussex on 20 March 1998, replacing the Duke of Richmond and Gordon. A lifelong supporter of Chelsea Football Club, Attenborough served as a director of the club from 1969-1982 and, since 1993, has held the honorary position of Life Vice President. He is also the head of the consortium, "Dragon International", which is constructing a film and television studio complex in Llanilid, Wales, often referred to as "Valleywood".
In 1967, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). He was knighted in 1976 and, in 1993, he was made a life peer as Baron Attenborough, of Richmond-upon-Thames in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.
On 13 July 2006, Attenborough and his brother, David Attenborough, were awarded the titles of Distinguished Honorary Fellows of the University of Leicester "in recognition of a record of continuing distinguished service to the University". Lord Attenborough is also listed as an Honorary Fellow of Bangor University for his continued efforts to film making.
Attenborough has been married to English actress Sheila Sim, since 1945. They had three children. In December 2004, his elder daughter, Jane Holland, as well as her daughter Lucy and her mother-in-law, also named Jane, were killed in the tsunami caused by the Indian Ocean earthquake. A memorial service was held on 8 March 2005, and Attenborough read a lesson at the national memorial service on 11 May 2005. His grandson, Samuel Holland, and granddaughter, Alice Holland, also read in the service.
Attenborough's father was principal of University College, Leicester, now the city's university. This has resulted in a long association with the university, with Lord Attenborough a patron. A commemorative plaque was placed on the floor of Richmond Parish Church. The university's "Richard Attenborough Centre for Disability and the Arts", which opened in 1997, is named in his Honor.
His son, Michael Attenborough, is also a director. He has two younger brothers, the famous naturalist Sir David Attenborough and John Attenborough, who has made a career in the motor trade.
He has collected Pablo Picasso ceramics since the 1950s. More than 100 items went on display at the New Walk Museum and Art Gallery in Leicester in 2007; the exhibition is dedicated to his family members lost in the tsunami.Film Director, Actor, Producer
Career Highlights:
The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)
Doctor Dolittle (1967)
Rosebud (1975)
A Bridge Too Far (1977; Director only)
Gandhi (1982; Director only)
Chaplin (1992; Director only)
Shadowlands (1993; Director only)
Jurassic Park (1993)
Hamlet (1996)
2-time Academy Award Winner (Gandhi); best picture, best director
5-time BAFTA Awards Winner (Guns at Batasi, Séance on a Wet Afternoon); both for Best Actor), Gandhi (Best Film, Best Director), Shadowlands (Outstanding British Film), BAFTA Fellowship (Special Award)
12-time BAFTA Award Nominee
3-time Golden Globe Award Winner (The Sand Pebbles, Doctor Dolittle); both for Best Supporting Actor, (Gandhi); Best Director
5-time Golden Globe Nominee- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Richard Jenkins was born on 4 May 1947 in DeKalb, Illinois, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for The Shape of Water (2017), The Visitor (2007) and Step Brothers (2008). He has been married to Sharon R. Friedrick since 23 August 1969. They have two children.Actor
Career Highlights:
Silverado (1985)
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
The Indian in the Cupboard (1995)
Flirting with Disaster (1996)
Random Hearts (1999)
The Visitor (2008)
Step Brothers (2008)
Burn After Reading (2008)
The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
Bone Tomahawk (2015)
The Shape of Water (2017)
Nightmare Alley (2021)
Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (2022)
2-time Academy Award Nominee (The Visitor, The Shape of Water)
Golden Globe Nominee (The Shape of Water)
2-time SAG Award Nominee (The Visitor, The Shape of Water)
Fangoria Chainsaw Award Winner (Let Me In)
Saturn Award Nominee (Nightmare Alley)- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Richard St John Harris was born on October 1, 1930 in Limerick, Ireland, to a farming family, one of nine children born to Mildred (Harty) and Ivan Harris. He attended Crescent College, a Jesuit school, and was an excellent rugby player, with a strong passion for literature. Unfortunately, a bout of tuberculosis as a teenager ended his aspirations to a rugby career, but he became fascinated with the theater and skipped a local dance one night to attend a performance of "Henry IV". He was hooked and went on to learn his craft at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), then spent several years in stage productions. He debuted on screen in Shake Hands with the Devil (1959) and quickly scored regular work in films, including The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959), The Night Fighters (1960) and a good role as a frustrated Australian bomber pilot in The Guns of Navarone (1961).
However, his breakthrough performance was as the quintessential "angry young man" in the sensational drama This Sporting Life (1963), which scored him an Oscar nomination. He then appeared in the WW II commando tale The Heroes of Telemark (1965) and in the Sam Peckinpah-directed western Major Dundee (1965). He next showed up in Hawaii (1966) and played King Arthur in Camelot (1967), a lackluster adaptation of the famous Broadway play. Better performances followed, among them a role as a reluctant police informer in The Molly Maguires (1970) alongside Sir Sean Connery. Harris took the lead role in the violent western A Man Called Horse (1970), which became something of a cult film and spawned two sequels. As the 1970s progressed, Harris continued to appear regularly on screen; however, the quality of the scripts varied from above average to woeful.
His credits during this period included directing himself as an aging soccer player in The Hero (1970); the western The Deadly Trackers (1973); the big-budget "disaster" film Juggernaut (1974); the strangely-titled crime film 99 and 44/100% Dead! (1974); with Connery again in Robin and Marian (1976); Gulliver's Travels (1977); a part in the Jaws (1975); Orca (1977) and a nice turn as an ill-fated mercenary with Richard Burton and Roger Moore in the popular action film The Wild Geese (1978).
The 1980s kicked off with Harris appearing in the silly Bo Derek vanity production Tarzan the Ape Man (1981) and the remainder of the decade had him appearing in some very forgettable productions. However, the luck of the Irish was once again to shine on Harris's career and he scored rave reviews (and another Oscar nomination) for The Field (1990). He then locked horns with Harrison Ford as an IRA sympathizer in Patriot Games (1992) and got one of his best roles as gunfighter English Bob in the Clint Eastwood western Unforgiven (1992). Harris was firmly back in vogue and rewarded his fans with more wonderful performances in Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993); Cry, the Beloved Country (1995); The Great Kandinsky (1995) and This Is the Sea (1997). Further fortune came his way with a strong performance in the blockbuster Gladiator (2000) and he became known to an entirely new generation of film fans as Albus Dumbledore in the mega-successful Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002). His final screen role was as "Lucius Sulla" in Caesar (2002).
Harris died of Hodgkin's disease, also known as Hodgkin's lymphoma, in London on October 25, 2002, aged 72.Actor, Singer
Career Highlights:
The Guns of Navarone (1961)
Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)
Hawaii (1966)
Gulliver’s Travels (1977)
Patriot Games (1992)
Unforgiven (1992)
Gladiator (2000)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
2-time Academy Award Nominee (This Sporting Life, The Field)
Golden Globe Award Winner (Camelot)
Emmy Award Nominee (The Snow Goose)
2-time Golden Globe Nominee (The Field, Camelot)
Grammy Awards Winner (Jonathan Livingston Seagull)
4-time Grammy Award Nominee
Winner of 9 Awards altogether- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Richard Kind, a Drama Desk Award winner and Tony nominee for the Broadway hit The Big Knife, is an accomplished stage, screen and television actor who continues to redefine the term character actor. Kind is starring as Sam Meyers in the Amazon Original Series Red Oaks (2014). He appeared in the 2013 Best Picture Academy Award-winning Argo (2012). Additional film credits include The Visitor (2007) and The Station Agent (2003), among many others, as well as voicing characters in A Bug's Life (1998) and Cars (2006). In television, besides his infamous roles on Spin City (1996) and Mad About You (1992), Kind starred in the acclaimed HBO series Luck (2011), has guest starred on many shows, and has had recurring roles on Luck (2011) and Gotham (2014). On stage, Kind has starred in the smash hit Broadway musical The Producers, The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, Candide, and Bounce, among others. Kind started his career in Chicago with the Practical Theatre Company, founded by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Brad Hill and Gary Kroeger.Actor, Voice Actor
Tom and Jerry: The Movie (1992)
Stargate (1994)
A Bug’s Life (1998)
The Station Agent (2003)
Argo (2012)
Inside Out (2015)
Bombshell (2019)
Tick, Tick…Boom (2021)- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Richard Crispin Armitage was born and raised in Leicester, England, to Margaret (Hendey), a secretary, and John Armitage, an engineer. He attended Pattison College in Binley Road, Coventry, where he discovered his love for acting. He took part in many theatre productions all over the UK, from musical theatre (Cats) to classical theatre (Death of a Salesman). He enrolled at LAMDA in 1995 and starred in The Cherry Orchard and The Normal Heart among others.
He started working in cinema in 1999 with some small roles in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Cleopatra and This Year's Love (1999). In 2000 he took part in the RSC Macbeth tour of the USA and Japan with Antony Sher as the lead actor. In 2002, he had a breakthrough with his role as the charming but a bit odd character John Standring in Sparkhouse (2002), a BBC Miniseries in three parts, opposite Sarah Smart. After two guest-roles in Cold Feet (1997) in 2003 and Between the Sheets (2003), he landed a role as Steven in Frozen (2005). In 2004, he became famous throughout the whole UK with his role of mill-owner John Thornton in North & South (2004) (BBC). He landed a key role in BBC Robin Hood from 2006 to 2009 as the dark and evil Guy of Gisborne, then from 2008 to 2010 he played Lucas North in the successful British series Spooks (MI-5 in the USA). He kept working on British TV (Strike Back: Origins in 2010) and had a small but pivotal role in Captain America: the first Avenger, till he became known worldwide with his role of Thorin Oakenshield in Peter Jackson's trilogy of The Hobbit (2012/2014), for which he received a Saturn Award. In 2014 he was the protagonist of Yael Farber's acclaimed version of Arthur Miller's The Crucible at the Old Vic in London, for which role he was nominated for an Olivier Award. He starred in the third season of Hannibal (2015) in the role of serial killer Francis Dolarhyde, which got him another Saturn Award. In 2016 he starred in the Epix original series Berlin Station in the lead role of Daniel Miller, and in the same year he received many positive reviews for his role of Kenneth in Mike Bartlett's Love, love, love for Roundabout Theatre in NYC. In 2017 He worked on Ocean's Eight, and on the second season of Berlin Station. In July 2017 the film Pilgrimage came out with many positive reviews. He has narrated several audio books with Audible, for which he has received two nominations for an Audie Award. He has recently given the voice to Trevor Belmont in the series Castlevania on Netflix.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Richard Madden, born 18 June 1986, is a Scottish stage, film, and television actor best known for portraying Robb Stark in the HBO series "Game of Thrones" and Prince Kit in Disney's "Cinderella." Starring as David Budd in the BBC miniseries "Bodyguard" has also brought him more international acclaim and attention including a Golden Globe and other nominations. Despite his seemingly overnight success, Madden has been acting since he was in his teens, with only a brief break where he focused on school.
Madden was born in Elderslie, Renfrewshire, Scotland, where he was brought up with two sisters. His mother, Pat, is a classroom assistant, and his father, Richard, is in the fire brigade.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Richard E. Grant is an actor and presenter. He made his film debut as Withnail in the comedy Withnail and I (1987). Grant received critical acclaim for his role as Jack Hock in Marielle Heller's drama film Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018), winning various awards including the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. He also received Academy Award, BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor.- Actor
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Writer
The great character actor Richard Edson's first feature film role came in Jim Jarmusch's 1983 cult hit, Stranger Than Paradise (1984), where he played "Eddie", one of the main characters. Edson then had small, but memorable, roles in other big hits such as Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), John Hughes' Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), Oliver Stone's great Vietnam-movie Platoon (1986), Barry Levinson's Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) and, in 1989, Edson starred in Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing (1989). In 1993, he played "Spike", one of the evil King Koopa's henchmen, in Super Mario Bros. (1993) and, in 1995, he had a part in the engaging sci-fi thriller, Strange Days (1995). More recently, he has appeared in the remake of Starsky & Hutch (2004), the dubious horror-flick, Frankenfish (2004) and is currently starring with Tom Arnold in The Kid & I (2005).
In addition to his film success, Edson has had a fascinating career in music, being the original drummer in the New York post-punk band, Sonic Youth, and spending three years as drummer for the rhythmic dance band, Konk. (Actually, he was a trumpet player in Konk, not the drummer) It was his involvement in Konk and the New York art scene that caught Jim Jarmusch's eye and led to his being cast in Stranger Than Paradise (1984).
Edson currently lives in Los Angeles where, in addition to acting, he is very active in music, writing and photography.- Actor
- Stunts
- Soundtrack
An American stuntman who, after more than 30 years in the business, moved into acting and became an acclaimed and respected character actor, Richard Farnsworth was a native of Los Angeles. He grew up around horses and as a teenager was offered an opportunity to ride in films. He appeared in horse-racing scenes and cavalry charges unbilled, first as a general rider and later as a stuntman. His riding and stunting skills gained him regular work doubling stars ranging from Roy Rogers to Gary Cooper, and he often doubled the bad guy as well. Although. like most stuntmen, he was occasionally given a line or two of dialogue, it was not until Farnsworth was over 50 that his natural talent for acting and his ease and warmth before the camera became apparent. When he won an Academy Award nomination for his role in Comes a Horseman (1978), it came as a surprise to many in the industry that this "newcomer" had been around since the 1930s. Farnsworth followed his Oscar nomination with a number of finely wrought performances, including The Grey Fox (1982) and The Natural (1984). In 1999 he came out of semi-retirement for a tour-de-force portrayal in The Straight Story (1999).- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Richard was born in Bethesda, Maryland, the middle of three sons of Edward, a real estate lawyer, and Charlotte, a cable TV and publishing executive. His parents divorced when he was 12. He dropped out of high school and switched to night school because he could finish sooner with less work. He studied at the City College of New York (CCNY) in 1973. "In college when I tripped and fell over the drama program at the City College of New York, and went and got into the Professional Acting Training Program by fluke, and Earle Gister, who was, uh, had just come from Carnegie-Melon, and was on his way to the Yale School of Drama stopped for a little pit stop at the City College of New York for three years to run the Davis Center for Performing Arts. I was very lucky that he was there." After not bothering to show up for finals though, he headed to Colorado where he cut firewood and lived a hippie life. He returned to New York in 1975 and started studying acting at CCNY and eventually was accepted into their theater program. He initially disliked acting and studied to be a director. He directed several off-Broadway plays, including "Antigone" with a then just-graduated Angela Bassett in 1983. He also met present wife, Sheila Kelley, during auditions for this play. The two married in 1996. In the mid-1980s, Richard says he conquered his fears and decided to take a stab at acting. He got several TV roles, but he was seen by Steven Spielberg in an episode of the TV drama High Incident (1996). Spielberg then cast him in The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) and his career has been on an upward climb ever since that has led to his co-starring role in The West Wing (1999).- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Richard Barthelmess was born into a theatrical family in which his mother was an actress. While attending Trinity College in Connecticut, he began appearing in stage productions. While on vacation in 1916, a friend of his mother, actress Alla Nazimova, offered him a part in War Brides (1916), and Richard never returned to college. He appeared in a number of films before signing a contract with D.W. Griffith in 1919. Griffith put Richard into Broken Blossoms (1919) with Lillian Gish which made him a star. He had an uncanny ability to become the characters he played. The next year, he was again teamed with Lillian in Way Down East (1920). This film would become the standard for many movies in the future. Best remembered is the river scene in which Richard jumps over the ice floes in search of Lillian as she heads towards the falls. He formed Inspiration Pictures to make Tol'able David (1921) and gave one of his best performances as a lad who saves the U.S. mail from the outlaws. He remained popular throughout the twenties and became one of the biggest stars at First National Pictures. He received Academy Award nominations for The Patent Leather Kid (1927) and The Noose (1928). Sound was not a medium that would embrace Richard. He did make a number of talkies in the first few years of sound, but his acting technique was not well suited for sound and the parts began to get smaller. With his career over by the mid-30s, but he came back with a fine performance in Howard Hawks's Only Angels Have Wings (1939). Richard joined the Navy Reserve in 1942, and when the war ended he retired to Long Island and lived off his real estate investments.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Although his actress wife Paula Prentiss became a star by the early 1960s, it took Richard Benjamin almost fifteen years to establish his screen persona, but the wait was rewarding. After extensive work in theatre as actor and director, and his participation in the cult TV series He & She (1967), in which he co-starred with Prentiss, he won the starring role in the screen adaptation of Philip Roth's best-seller, Goodbye, Columbus (1969). That was followed by roles in Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970), The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker (1971) and another Roth adaptation, Portnoy's Complaint (1972), that turned him into a prominent "archetype of East Coast Jewish intellectual agony", as critic Jonathan Romney defines him. But his forte was comedy and he won a Golden Globe when he repeated his stage role in the film version of Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys (1975). Although he still performs, Benjamin turned to direction since the 80s with the highly acclaimed comedy My Favorite Year (1982).- Richard Brake was born in Ystrad Mynach, Hengoed, Wales, UK. He is an actor, known for Doom (2005), 31 (2016) and Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014).
- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Richard Chamberlain became the leading heartthrob of early 1960s television. As the impeccably handsome Dr. James Kildare, the slim, butter-haired hunk with the near-perfect Ivy-League charm and smooth, intelligent demeanor, had the distaff fans fawning unwavering over him through the series' run. While this would appear to be a dream situation for any new star, to Chamberlain it brought about a major, unsettling identity crisis.
Born George Richard Chamberlain in Beverly Hills on March 31, 1934, he was the second son of Elsa Winnifred (von Benzon) (1902-1993) and Charles Axiom Chamberlain (1902-1984), a salesman. He has English and German ancestry. Richard experienced a profoundly unhappy childhood and did not enjoy school at all, making up for it somewhat by excelling in track and becoming a four-year letter man in high school and college. He also developed a strong interest and enjoyment in acting while attending Pomona College. Losing an initial chance to sign up with Paramount Pictures, the studio later renewed interest. Complications arose when he was drafted into the Unites States Army on December 7, 1956 for 16 months, serving in Korea.
Chamberlain headed for Hollywood soon after his discharge and, in just a couple of years, worked up a decent resumé with a number of visible guest spots on such popular series as Gunsmoke (1955) and Mr. Lucky (1959). But it was the stardom of the medical series Dr. Kildare (1961) that garnered overnight female worship and he became a huge sweater-vested pin-up favorite. It also sparked a brief, modest singing career for the actor.
The attention Richard received was phenomenal. True to his "Prince Charming" type, he advanced into typically bland, soap-styled leads on film befitting said image, but crossover stardom proved to be elusive. The vehicles he appeared in, Twilight of Honor (1963) with Joey Heatherton and Joy in the Morning (1965) opposite Yvette Mimieux, did not bring him the screen fame foreseen. The public obviously saw the actor as nothing more than a television commodity.
More interested in a reputation as a serious actor, Chamberlain took a huge risk and turned his back on Hollywood, devoting himself to the stage. In 1966 alone, he appeared in such legit productions as "The Philadelphia Story" and "Private Lives", and also showed off his vocal talents playing Tony in "West Side Story". In December of that year, a musical version of "Breakfast at Tiffany's" starring Richard and Mary Tyler Moore in the sparkling George Peppard/Audrey Hepburn roles was headed for Broadway. However, it flopped badly in previews and closed after only four performances. Even today, it is still deemed one of Broadway's biggest musical disasters.
An important dramatic role in director Richard Lester's Petulia (1968) led Richard to England, where he stayed and dared to test his acting prowess on the classical stage. With it, his personal satisfaction over image and career improved. Bravura performances as "Hamlet" (1969) and "Richard II" (1971), as well as his triumph in "The Lady's Not for Burning" (1972), won over the not-so-easy-to-impress British audiences. And on the classier film front, he ably portrayed Octavius Caesar opposite Charlton Heston's Mark Antony and Jason Robards' Brutus in Julius Caesar (1970), composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in Ken Russell's grandiose The Music Lovers (1971) opposite Glenda Jackson, and Lord Byron alongside Sarah Miles in Lady Caroline Lamb (1972). While none of these three films were critical favorites, they were instrumental in helping to reshape Chamberlain's career as a serious, sturdy and reliable actor.
With his new image in place, Richard felt ready to face American audiences again. While he made a triumphant Broadway debut as Reverend Shannon in "The Night of the Iguana" (1975), he also enjoyed modest box-office popularity with the action-driven adventure films The Three Musketeers (1973) as Aramis and a villainous role in The Towering Inferno (1974), and earned cult status for the Australian film The Last Wave (1977). On the television front, he became a television idol all over again (on his own terms this time) as the "King of 80s Mini-Movies". The epic storytelling of The Count of Monte-Cristo (1975), The Thorn Birds (1983) and Shogun (1980), all of which earned him Emmy nominations, placed Richard solidly on the quality star list. He won Golden Globe Awards for his starring roles in the last two miniseries mentioned.
In later years, the actor devoted a great deal of his time to musical stage tours as Henry Higgins in "My Fair Lady", Captain Von Trapp in "The Sound of Music" and Ebenezer Scrooge in "Scrooge: The Musical". Enormously private and having moved to Hawaii to avoid the Hollywood glare, at age 69 finally "came out" with a tell-all biography entitled "Shattered Love", in which he quite candidly discussed the anguish of hiding his homosexuality to protect his enduring matinée idol image.
Married now to his longtime partner of over 40 years, writer/producer Martin Rabbett, he has since accepted himself and shown to be quite a good sport in the process, appearing as gay characters in the film I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007), and in television episodes of Will & Grace (1998), Desperate Housewives (2004) and Brothers & Sisters (2006). More recently, he has enjoyed featured roles in the films Strength and Honour (2007), The Perfect Family (2011), We Are the Hartmans (2011), Nightmare Cinema (2018) and Finding Julia (2019).- Actor
- Producer
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Richard Cabral was born on 28 August 1984 in East Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for End of Watch (2012), Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014) and Walk of Shame (2014). He has been married to Janiece Sarduy since 24 October 2014.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Richard Donald Crenna was born in Los Angeles, California, into a modest-income family, the only child of Edith J. (Pollette) and Domenick Anthony Crenna, a pharmacist. His parents were both of Italian descent. His mother managed a small hotel in downtown Los Angeles, where Richard and his family resided.
He began his career when he was eleven years old, playing the dimmer half of two youngsters called Herman and Sam in the Los Angeles radio show "Boy Scout Jamboree". He stayed with the series on and off for seventeen years, doing hundreds of other radio shows in between, including voicing Ougy Pringle in "A Date with Judy" (1946). During this time, he graduated from high school with letters in track and basketball, and later enrolled at the University of Southern California, where he majored in Theater Arts.
He was cast as Walter Denton in the radio show "Our Miss Brooks" and stayed in the part when the show moved from radio to television (Our Miss Brooks (1952)). The role called for a gangly, awkward, cracked-voice adolescent. Crenna was a tall, graceful man with a rich voice, yet his acting skills were such that he was easily able to fulfill the character's requirements, leading many viewers to believe that he actually was of high school age, when in fact he was 26 years old at the time. Crenna went on to star in another early television series, The Real McCoys (1957), but it was his role as the dedicated state legislator in the short-lived Slattery's People (1964) that finally established him both as a dramatic actor and a leading man. From that moment on, he was rarely absent from either television or motion pictures. In 1985, Crenna was awarded an Emmy for Best Performance by an Actor for The Rape of Richard Beck (1985). During the 1980s, he also became known for playing Colonel Trautman in the Rambo films (First Blood (1982), Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), and Rambo III (1988)). His star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is in a prime position, opposite Mann's Chinese Theatre, two stars down from his Rambo co-star Sylvester Stallone.
Crenna married shortly after his graduation from USC, but the marriage was short-lived. He met and married his last wife in the late 1950s. Richard Crenna died at age 76 of heart failure on January 17, 2003 in Los Angeles, with more than 70 major motion pictures to his credit.- Actor
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Richard Cabral was born on 28 August 1984 in East Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for End of Watch (2012), Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014) and Walk of Shame (2014). He has been married to Janiece Sarduy since 24 October 2014.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Richard Ellef Ayoade was born in Hammersmith, and grew up in Suffolk, in England, the son of a Norwegian mother, Dagny Amalie (Baassuik), and a Nigerian father, Layide Ade Laditi Ayoade. He studied Law at Cambridge university, and followed in the footsteps of British Comedy legends like Monty Python's Eric Idle, Hugh Laurie and Graeme Garden when he became the president of the Cambridge Footlights club.
Ayoade's first real TV break was directing, co-writing and starring with Matthew Holness in the cult classic Garth Marenghi's Darkplace (2004) a parody of shlocky 1980's science fiction television shows, and noticed for it's "so bad it's good!" aesthetic. Notably shy and self-effacing in interviews, his performance as the debauched, self-assured publisher/pornographer/nightclub owner 'Dean Learner' showcased the young comedian's acting talent.
After cameos in another cult series The Mighty Boosh (2003) as the shaman "Saboo", his position in the popular consciousness was cemented in the series The IT Crowd (2006) where Ayoade played the social oblivious, dweebish savant known as "Moss".
All the while Ayoade continued to direct music videos for Vampire Weekend, Kasabian, and the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs before finally getting his chance to direct a feature film, Submarine (2010), based on the novel by Joe Dunthorne.
Submarine was followed by The Double (2013) co-written by Avi Korine and based on a novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky.- Actor
- Producer
Richard Anderson appeared in high school plays, served a hitch in the Army and, upon his discharge, began doing summer stock, radio work, a movie bit part (a wounded soldier in Twelve O'Clock High (1949)) and all the other minor jobs required of your basic struggling actor. He did comedy scenes on a "screen test"-like TV series called Lights, Camera, Action! (1950) and impressed the right people at MGM, who offered him a contract. After leaving MGM he continued to dabble in movies while at the same time becoming a huge presence on TV. He was a regular (Police Lt. Drum) during the last season of TV's Perry Mason (1957); in the series' last episode, he interrogates witnesses to a murder in a TV studio--the witnesses being played by the "Perry Mason" crew. In the high-rated last episode of The Fugitive (1963) he plays Richard Kimble's (David Janssen) brother-in-law, and is briefly suspected of being the real killer of Kimble's wife. A regular on The Six Million Dollar Man (1974), Anderson has more recently produced the TV-movie reprises of that series.- Actor
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Richard Karn was born on February 17, 1956, in Seattle, Washington, the son of Gene and Louise Wilson. He has a sister named Sue. His birth name was Richard Karn Wilson, but he shortened it to Richard Karn because there was already a Richard Wilson registered with the Screen Actors Guild. He did his first acting in the fifth grade and was very active in drama in high school. He spent six months in England and attended the University of Washington, graduating in 1979 with a degree in drama. During his career, Richard has performed in many off-Broadway productions. His filmography includes 11 feature films and several made-for-TV movies and television series, including 8 years as Al Borland on Home Improvement with Tim Allen.- Music Department
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He met Lorenz Hart in 1918 who was to write lyrics for Richard for the next 25 years. The produced many successful songs and musicals such as 'Pal Joey' and 'The Boys From Syracuse'. In 1943 Richard teamed up with Oscar Hammerstein to make a musical version of the play 'How Green Was Your Valley' which became 'Oklahoma' Richard also provided the music for 'Carousel', 'South Pacific'. The King and I' and 'The Sound of Music'.- Graduated from Dominguez High School in Compton. Ranked among the best wide receiver prospects in the nation. PrepStar All-West selection and SuperPrep All-Far West pick. Named to the Long Beach Press- Telegram's Dream Team as one of the premier recruits in the West. Listed as the 50th-best recruit in the nation by SuperPrep. Accounted for 1,030 all-purpose yards as a senior, including 870 yards on 28 catches and three punt returns for touchdowns. Recorded 45 tackles, eight pass breakups and one interception as a defensive back. First team All-CIF and Long Beach Press-Telegram Dream Team selection in track as a senior. Communications major.
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Richard Dreyfuss is an American leading man, who has played his fair share of irritating pests and brash, ambitious hustlers.
He was born Richard Stephen Dreyfus in Brooklyn, New York, to Geraldine (Robbins), an activist, and Norman Dreyfus, a restaurateur and attorney. His paternal grandparents were Austro-Hungarian Jewish immigrants, and his mother's family was Russian Jewish.
Richard worked his way up through bit parts (The Graduate (1967), for one) and TV before gaining attention with his portrayal of Baby Face Nelson in John Milius' Dillinger (1973). He gained prominence as a college-bound young man in American Graffiti (1973) and as a nervy Jewish kid with high hopes in The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974). By the latter part of the 1970s Dreyfuss was established as a major star, playing leads (and alter-egos) for Steven Spielberg in two of the top-grossing films of the that decade: Jaws (1975) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). He won a Best Actor Oscar in his first romantic lead as an out-of-work actor in The Goodbye Girl (1977). Dreyfuss also produced and starred in the entertaining private eye movie The Big Fix (1978). After a brief lull in the early 1980s, a well-publicized drug problem and a string of box-office disappointments (The Competition (1980), Whose Life Is It Anyway? (1981), The Buddy System (1984)), a clean and sober Dreyfuss re-established himself in the mid-'80s as one of Hollywood's more engaging leads. He co-starred with Bette Midler and Nick Nolte in Paul Mazursky's popular Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986). That same year he provided the narration and appeared in the opening and closing "bookends" of Rob Reiner's nostalgic Stand by Me (1986). He quickly followed that with Nuts (1987) opposite Barbra Streisand, Barry Levinson's Tin Men (1987) in a memorable teaming with Danny DeVito, and Stakeout (1987) with Emilio Estevez. Dreyfuss continued working steadily through the end of the 1980s and into the 1990s, most notably in Mazursky's farce Moon Over Parador (1988), Spielberg's Always (1989), Postcards from the Edge (1990) and Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990). He appeared as a member of an ensemble that included Holly Hunter, Gena Rowlands and Danny Aiello in the romantic comedy Once Around (1991) and as a pop psychiatrist, the author of several successful self-help books, who is driven to the edge by nutcase Bill Murray in the popular comedy What About Bob? (1991). Dreyfuss has also remained active in the theater ("Death and Maiden", 1992) and on TV. In his next project he starred the thriller Silent Fall (1994) with John Lithgow and Linda Hamilton, being the film debut of Liv Tyler, Steven Tyler's daughter (Aerosmith's lead vocals). Just later Dreyfuss made Another Stakeout (1993), sequel of Stakeout (1987) where was team again with Emilio Estevez accompanied of Rosie O'Donnell, the adaptation of Neil Simon's play Lost in Yonkers (1993) and followed with a supporting turn as the querulous political opponent in The American President (1995). Dreyfuss received some of the best notices of his career as a determined, inspiring music teacher coping with a deaf son and the demands of his career in Mr. Holland's Opus (1995). Closing the 20th century he was in Sidney Lumet's Night Falls on Manhattan (1996) with Andy Garcia, the crime comedy Mad Dog Time (1996) as the mob boss Vic, the screwball comedy Krippendorf's Tribe (1998) about an anthropologist who creates a false lost New Guinea tribe for not losing his job in the university, TV movie Lansky (1999) about the infamous mob boss to end, the too TV movie Fail Safe (2000) playing The President, and The Crew (2000), about four older mobsters retired in Miami, partnering with Hollywood legends Burt Reynolds, Dan Hedaya and Seymour Cassel.
His start in the 21st century was with the adaption of Luis Sepúlveda's novel The Old Man Who Read Love Stories (2001), playing an old man to must to hunt a female jaguar turned crazy. It was followed by the supporting apparition in the comedy Who Is Cletis Tout? (2001) and another TV movie about 1981 Ronald Reagan's shooting The Day Reagan Was Shot (2001). After the short-lived TV series The Education of Max Bickford (2001) about a teacher in a women's college where his daughter is student, Dreyfuss returned to cinema in Silver City (2004) and the box-office bomb Poseidon (2006) with Kurt Russell, Emmy Rossum and Josh Lucas. Playing former vice-president Dick Cheney in the Oliver Stone's biopic W. (2008) and Irv, the cunning tourist in Greece turned in assistant of a troubled tour guide in My Life in Ruins (2009), Dreyfuss participated in low-budget productions as Leaves of Grass (2009) and The Lightkeepers (2009), for making a cameo in the wild and crazy Piranha 3D (2010) about prehistoric men-eater piranhas that make a bloodbath in a spring break. Returning to first line playing evil Alexander Dunning in the actioner RED (2010), his further productions included Paranoia (2013) as Liam Hemsworth's father partnering Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman, road movie Cas & Dylan (2013) opposites Tatiana Maslany and the biopic TV mini-series Madoff (2016) about the infamous multi-billion-dollar and hustler Bernie Madoff. Tireless and always implied in new projects, Dreyfuss played George, the funny online date of Candice Bergen in Book Club (2018), the comedy and road movie The Last Laugh (2019) with Chevy Chase, and the set in wilderness thriller Daughter of the Wolf (2019) with Gina Carano and Brendan Fehr. Making his 73rd birthday in 2020, Dreyfuss is an example of talent, diversity and love for his work, touching not only all the genres in cinema but leaving an unforgettable footprint at any of them.- Director
- Producer
- Actor
Richard Donner was born on 24 April 1930 in The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. He was a director and producer, known for Superman (1978), Ladyhawke (1985) and Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (1980). He was married to Lauren Shuler Donner. He died on 5 July 2021 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Richard Dormer is an actor, playwright and screenwriter from Northern Ireland. He is best known for his roles as Beric Dondarrion in the HBO television series Game of Thrones and Dan Anderssen in Sky Atlantic's Fortitude. Dormer was born in Portadown, Northern Ireland. He studied at the RADA school of acting in London.- Actor
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Highly influential, and always controversial, African-American actor/comedian who was equally well known for his colorful language during his live comedy shows, as for his fast paced life, multiple marriages and battles with drug addiction. He has been acknowledged by many modern comic artist's as a key influence on their careers, and Pryor's observational humor on African-American life in the USA during the 1970s was razor sharp brilliance.
He was born Richard Franklin Lennox Pryor III on December 1, 1940, in Peoria, Illinois, the son of Gertrude L. (Thomas) and LeRoy "Buck Carter" Pryor. His mother, a prostitute, abandoned him when he was ten years of age, after which he was raised in his grandmother's brothel. Unfortunately, Pryor was molested at the age of six by a teenage neighbor, and later by a neighborhood preacher. To escape this troubled life, the young Pryor was an avid movie fan and a regular visitor to local movie theaters in Peoria. After numerous jobs, including truck driver and meat packer, the young Pryor did a stint in the US Army between 1958 & 1960 in which he performed in amateur theater shows. After he left the services in 1960, Pryor started singing in small clubs, but inadvertently found that humor was his real forte.
Pryor spent time in both New York & Las Vegas, honing his comic craft. However, his unconventional approach to humor sometimes made bookings difficult to come by and this eventually saw Pryor heading to Los Angeles. He first broke into films with minor roles in The Busy Body (1967) and Wild in the Streets (1968). However, his performance as a drug addicted piano player in Lady Sings the Blues (1972), really got the attention of fans and film critics alike.
He made his first appearance with Gene Wilder in the very popular action/comedy Silver Streak (1976), played three different characters in Which Way Is Up? (1977) and portrayed real-life stock-car driver "Wendell Scott" in Greased Lightning (1977). Proving he was more than just a comedian, Pryor wowed audiences as a disenchanted auto worker who is seduced into betraying his friends and easy money in the Paul Schrader working class drama Blue Collar (1978), also starring Yaphet Kotto and Harvey Keitel. Always a strong advocate of African-American talent, Pryor next took a key role in The Wiz (1978), starring an all African-American cast, including Diana Ross and Michael Jackson, retelling the story of The Wizard of Oz (1939). His next four screen roles were primarily cameos in California Suite (1978); The Muppet Movie (1979); Wholly Moses! (1980) and In God We Trust (or Gimme That Prime Time Religion) (1980). However, Pryor teamed up with Gene Wilder once more for the prison comedy Stir Crazy (1980), which did strong box office business.
His next few films were a mixed bag of material, often inhibiting Pryor's talent, with equally mixed returns at the box office. Pryor then scored second billing to Christopher Reeve in the big budget Superman III (1983), and starred alongside fellow funny man John Candy in Brewster's Millions (1985) before revealing his inner self in the autobiographical Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986). Again, Pryor was somewhat hampered by poor material in his following film ventures. However, he did turn up again in See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989) with Gene Wilder, but the final product was not as sharp as their previous pairings. Pryor then partnered on-screen with two other very popular African-American comic's. The legendary Redd Foxx and 1980s comic newcomer Eddie Murphy starred with Pryor in the gangster film Harlem Nights (1989) which was also directed by Eddie Murphy. Having contracted multiple sclerosis in 1986, Pryor's remaining film appearances were primarily cameos apart from his fourth and final outing with Gene Wilder in the lukewarm Another You (1991), and his final appearance in a film production was a small role in the David Lynch road flick Lost Highway (1997).
Fans of this outrageous comic genius are encouraged to see his live specials Richard Pryor: Live and Smokin' (1971); the dynamic Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979); Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip (1982) and Richard Pryor... Here and Now (1983). In addition, The Richard Pryor Show (1977) is a must-have for any Richard Pryor fans' DVD collection.
Unknown to many, Pryor was a long time advocate against animal cruelty, and he campaigned against fast food chains and circus shows to address issues of animal welfare. He was married a total of seven times, and fathered eight children.
After long battles with ill health, Richard Pryor passed away on December 10th, 2005.- Actor
- Producer
- Executive
The original MacGyver (1985) and Stargate SG-1 (1997) star was born on January 23, 1950, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His father, Stuart Anderson, was a teacher at a local high school and his mother, Jocelyn, was an artist who was talented in both sculpting and painting. He and his three younger brothers (Jeffrey, Thomas, and James) grew up in Roseville, a suburb of Minneapolis. He developed a love for sports, music (especially jazz) and acting.
As a teenager, Anderson dreamed of becoming a professional hockey player as a teenager. But, at age sixteen, he broke both of his arms in separate incidents, the second of which was so bad that he had to be hospitalized for three months, putting paid to the dream of becoming a hockey player. He went hitchhiking on the open road via a 5,641-mile bicycle trip from Minnesota to Alaska. Although accompanied by several friends at the beginning of this trip, he traveled the last thirty-three days alone. This experience gave him a more centered sense of direction in his life.
After studying drama at St. Cloud State University and at Ohio University (without completing his degree), he briefly moved to New York before settling in Los Angeles, where he worked as a juggler and a street mime and in a Renaissance-style cabaret. He worked briefly in Marineland, where his jobs included holding fish in his mouth for killer whales to leap up and snatch. Subsequently, he appeared in plays and formed a rock band called "Rick Dean and the Dante" with his friend Carl Dante in which he sang and played the guitar.
His big break came in 1976, when he was cast in the popular daytime drama General Hospital (1963) as Dr. Jeff Webber. He continued to play the role for five years until he felt it was time to move on to prime-time drama. He made numerous guest appearances in series such as The Facts of Life (1979) and The Love Boat (1977) and was cast as the star in two CBS series, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1982) and Emerald Point N.A.S. (1983), but both lasted just one season.
His next big success came in 1985, when he won the role as the title character in the ABC adventure series MacGyver (1985). He was cast because the producers were impressed by the lack of pretension he showed at his audition. As he is nearsighted, it was necessary for him to wear his glasses for the reading. The series lasted seven seasons and ran for 139 episodes. It was hugely successful throughout its run and has continued to be popular all over the world. He reprised his role in two TV movies, MacGyver: Lost Treasure of Atlantis (1994) and MacGyver: Trail to Doomsday (1994), both produced by his own production company, Gekko Film Corp, which he co-founded with Michael Greenburg.
Having made a huge impression in Ordinary Heroes (1986) as a blind Vietnam veteran struggling to rebuild his life in the United States. After "MacGyver" ended he moved on to such made-for-television movies as In the Eyes of a Stranger (1992), Through the Eyes of a Killer (1992), Beyond Betrayal (1994), Past the Bleachers (1995) and Pandora's Clock (1996). He returned to series television in 1995, when he was cast as Ernest Pratt/Nicodemus Legend in Legend (1995), an adventure series that aired on UPN. He served as executive producer of the series, in which one of his co-stars was his close friend John de Lancie. His character was a dime novelist (Pratt) who took on the persona of the protagonist in his novels (Legend). The series was primarily a comedy, a blend of the western and science fiction.
He found major success again when cast as Colonel (later Brigadier General) Jack O'Neill in Stargate SG-1 (1997), an adventure/science fiction series based on the blockbuster Stargate (1994) starring Kurt Russell and James Spader. The series began filming in Vancouver on February 19, 1997, and premiered on Showtime on July 27, 1997 and on Fox Friday nights. The series has remained extremely successful since then, eventually resulting in the creation of a spin-off series, Stargate: Atlantis (2004), in 2004, and the now-canceled video game "Stargate SG-1: The Alliance" in 2005. Both series aired on the Sci-Fi Channel. He appeared, sporadically, in the latest spin-off series, Stargate Universe (2009). His role in the SG-1 series was substantially reduced in its seventh and eighth seasons, which culminated in his departure from the series in 2005.
Never married, he had dated many women including such actresses as Teri Hatcher, Lara Flynn Boyle, and Sela Ward as well as German ice-skater Katarina Witt. Since 1996, his partner has been Apryl A. Prose, mother of his only child, Wylie Quinn Annarose Anderson (born August 2, 1998).- Actor
- Soundtrack
Richard Dawson was born Colin Lionel Emm on November 20, 1932 in Gosport, Hampshire, England. When he was 14, he joined the Merchant Navy and served for three years. During that time, he made money boxing. He had to lie about his age and remain tough so the older guys would not hassle him. In the late 1950s, Richard met a British actress named Diana Dors. On April 12, 1959, while in New York for an appearance on The Steve Allen Plymouth Show (1956), they were married. Richard and Diana's first child, a son named Mark Dawson, was born in 1960, and a second son, Gary Dawson, was born in 1962. Richard and Diana separated in 1964 and eventually divorced in 1967. When Richard moved to the United States, he began acting on the well-known series, Hogan's Heroes (1965), in 1965. Richard played the lovable British Corporal Peter Newkirk. The show ended in 1971. Not long after that, in 1973, he became a panelist on Match Game (1973) and remained there until 1978.
While still on "Match Game", he hosted his own show called Family Feud (1976). , which he is most remembered for by his trademark of kissing all the female contestants. Those kisses made the show a warm and friendly program, along with his quick wit, subtle jokes, and ability to make people feel at ease with being on camera. In 1987, Richard co-starred withArnold Schwarzenegger in the science fiction action movie The Running Man (1987). Richard portrayed an egotistical game show host, Damon Killian, whom many say was a mirror image of himself at one time or another, during his real-life career.
When Richard was 61, he hosted the third incarnation of "Family Feud" in 1994, but had only a short run. On April 6, 1981, the Johnson family appeared on "Family Feud" and Richard was introduced to 27-year-old Gretchen Johnson. They had a daughter, Shannon Dawson (Shannon Nicole Dawson), in 1990, and were married in 1991. They were still married and reside in Beverly Hills, California. Richard narrated TV's Funniest Game Show Moments (1984) on Fox in early 2000. On Thanksgiving Day, November 23rd, 2000, he hosted a "Family Feud" marathon, which was filmed in 1995. Some people hear the name Richard Dawson and may not recognize the name. But say his name, followed by his famous quote "Survey says...!" or mention "Newkirk on Hogan's Heroes (1965)", and they're sure to know who you mean. Richard Dawson died at age 79 of complications from esophageal cancer on June 2, 2012.- Producer
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Self-taught writer-director Richard Stuart Linklater was born in Houston, Texas, to Diane Margaret (Krieger), who taught at a university, and Charles W. Linklater III. Richard was among the first and most successful talents to emerge during the American independent film renaissance of the 1990s. Typically setting each of his movies during one 24-hour period, Linklater's work explored what he dubbed "the youth rebellion continuum," focusing in fine detail on generational rites and mores with rare compassion and understanding while definitively capturing the 20-something culture of his era through a series of nuanced, illuminating ensemble pieces which introduced any number of talented young actors into the Hollywood firmament. Born in Houston, Texas, Linklater suspended his educational career at Sam Houston State University in 1982, to work on an offshore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. He subsequently relocated to the state's capital of Austin, where he founded a film society and began work on his debut film, 1987's It's Impossible to Learn to Plow by Reading Books (1988). Three years later he released the sprawling Slacker (1990), an insightful, virtually plotless look at 1990s youth culture that became a favorite on the festival circuit prior to earning vast acclaim at Sundance in 1991. Upon its commercial release, the movie, made for less than $23,000, became the subject of considerable mainstream media attention, with the term "slacker" becoming a much-overused catch-all tag employed to affix a name and identity to America's disaffected youth culture.- Writer
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Richard LaGravenese was born on 30 October 1959 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Freedom Writers (2007), Paris, I Love You (2006) and Behind the Candelabra (2013). He is married to Ann Weiss. They have one child.- Richard Flood was born on 28 July 1982 in Dublin, Ireland. He is an actor, known for Crossing Lines (2013), Amaurosis (2017) and Killing Kennedy (2013). He has been married to Gabriella Pession since 3 September 2016. They have one child.
- The avuncular star character actor Richard Griffiths grew up in a council flat in less than prosperous conditions, the son of deaf and volatile parents in a dysfunctional family setting. According to an article in the Telegraph newspaper, his father Thomas was a steelworker 'who fought in pubs for prize money'. Like most children, Richard's "mother tongue" was the same as his parents. In his case, that was sign language. Like many kids in the 50s, his world did not include television. He had to explain sounds to his parents, for example music. Griffiths made a career out of language. For instance, he developed a talent for dialects which later allowed him to shine in a number of ethnic portrayals. He attended the Manchester Polytechnic School Of Drama and then began his career in radio drama and repertory theatre. He subsequently became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company where he often excelled playing Shakespeare's comic characters.
In a 2007 interview, Griffiths said "I like playing Vernon Dursley in Harry Potter because that gives me a license to be horrible to kids. I hate the odious business of sucking up to the public." In fact, unlike those jovial characters he so often portrayed on screen, Griffiths did not tolerate fools gladly. On occasion, he would get stroppy with members of an audience, especially those failing to switch off their mobile phones during a performance (who could blame him?). He was also highly thought of as a raconteur and wit.
The ever-versatile, often bespectacled and bearded Griffiths did his best work for the small screen, excelling as the inquisitive and resourceful civil servant Henry Jay in Bird of Prey (1982) and as the lovable 'cooking policeman' Henry Crabbe in Pie in the Sky (1994), a role specially created for him. As comic relief he made many a hilarious guest appearance, in, among other popular series, The Vicar of Dibley (1994) (as the Bishop of Mulberry) and as Dr. Bayham Badger in the superb BBC adaption of Bleak House (2005). He could also play evil and sinister, none more so than Swelter in Gormenghast (2000), a character Griffiths described being at once "laughably comic" and "a monster like Idi Amin". He was also much sought-after by Hollywood producers, appearing in a dual role in The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991), as the ill-fated Magistrate Philipse in Tim Burton 's Sleepy Hollow (1999) and as King George in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011).
The much-acclaimed actor won a Tony Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, the Drama Desk Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award.
Griffiths was uncommonly skinny as a child and this required radiation treatment on his pituitary gland from the age of eight. It caused his metabolism to slow to such an extent that he eventually became obese, a condition which in all likelihood contributed to his death from complications during heart surgery on 28 March 2013 at the age of 65. - Actor
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Although Richard Kiley's rich baritone and strong vocal talent was much in evidence and received due respect with his award of a Tony for "Man of La Mancha", it was little used in his television and movie appearances. Won two Tony Awards as Best Actor (Musical): in 1959 for "Redhead" and in 1966 for his signature role, "Man of La Mancha". He was also nominated in the same category in 1962 for "No Strings" and, in 1987, as as Best Actor (Play) for a revival of Arthur Miller's "All My Sons".- Actor
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Richard Timothy Jones is a American actor. He has worked extensively in both film and television productions since the early 1990s. His television roles include Ally McBeal (1997), Judging Amy (1998-2005), CSI: Miami (2006), Girlfriends (2007), Grey's Anatomy (2010), Hawaii Five-0 (2011-2014), Narcos (2015), and Criminal Minds (2017). Since 2018, he has played Sergeant Wade Grey on the ABC police drama The Rookie. His film roles include portrayals of Lamont Carr in Disney's Full Court Miracle (2003), Laveinio "Slim" Hightower in Rick Famuyiwa's coming-of-age film The Wood (1999), Mike in Tyler Perry's dramatic films Why Did I Get Married? (2007) and Why Did I Get Married Too? (2010), and Captain Russell Hampton in the Hollywood blockbuster Godzilla (2014).- Actor
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Richard Tyson was born in Mobile, Alabama but eventually pursued his love of acting and moved to Hollywood, California. Landing one of his first roles on the hit TV show, 'Moonlighting' (with Bruce Willis and Cybil Shepherd), Richard's career took off from there and hasn't shown any sign of slowing down since. Best known for his roles as Buddy Revell in 'Three O'Clock High', Cullen Crisp in 'Kindergarten Cop' (opposite Arnold Schwartzenegger) and Perry in 'Two Moon Junction', Richard has time and time again proven his versatility as an actor in not only the different characters he plays, but also in his ability to go from feature film star to television actor to theater performer (he regularly takes to the stage to perform Shakespeare).
Richard was the star of his own television series called Hardball which ran for a year in 1989. He has also appeared on various other TV shows throughout his career including his most recent appearance on CSI:New York.
With a long list of film credits including 'Black Hawk Down', 'There's Something About Mary', 'Kingpin', 'Genghis Khan' and many others, Richard has shared the screen with a wide array of actors including Charleton Heston, Orlando Bloom, Ben Stiller and John Travolta. In addition to his extensive film and television career, Richard holds a Masters Degree in Fine Arts from Cornell University and once taught acting there. Richard's most recent films include 'Naked Run', 'Richard III', 'Plane Dead', 'The Visitation' and the horror film, 'Big Bad Wolf' in which Richard plays a stepfather accused by his stepson of being a vicious werewolf. 'Big Bad Wolf' is set for release this year.
In the fall of 2006 Richard returned home to Alabama for the premiere of the film, 'When I Find The Ocean' - the first film he has been in to be shot in his home state - and soon after visited Russia where he accepted the Peacemaker Award. Richard is currently shooting the film 'Jake's Corner' and will be returning to Russia later this year to begin filming for another movie. He is also looking to direct and produce his own films and continues to seek interesting and challenging roles to play.- Actor
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During World War I, Richard Arlen served in the Royal Canadian Flying Corps as a pilot, but he never saw combat. After the war he drifted round and eventually wound up in Los Angeles, where he got a job as a motorcycle messenger at a film laboratory. When he crashed into the gates of Paramount Pictures and suffered a broken leg, the studio provided prompt medical attention. Impressed by his good looks, executives also gave him a contract after he had recovered. Starting as an extra in 1925, Arlen soon rose to credited roles, but the quality of his work left much to be desired. However, he continued in films, and his big break came when William A. Wellman cast him as a pilot in the silent film Wings (1927) with Charles 'Buddy' Rogers and Clara Bow. The story of fighter aces would win the Oscar for Best Picture and Arlen would continue to play the tough, cynical hero throughout his career. Arlen appeared in three more pictures directed by Wellman, Beggars of Life (1928), Ladies of the Mob (1928) and The Man I Love (1929). In "Wings" he had a scene with a young actor named Gary Cooper. In 1929, he again worked with Cooper in the western The Virginian (1929), only this time Cooper was the star and Arlen was the supporting actor. While Arlen moved easily into sound, his career just bumped along. By 1935 he was working in such "B" pictures as Three Live Ghosts (1936). It was in 1935 that he became a freelance actor and his freelance career soon waned. In 1939, he signed with Universal and began working in its action films. In 1941 he moved to the Pine-Thomas unit at Paramount, where he appeared in adventure films. With the war on, most of his earlier films included war scenarios. By the end of the 1940s Arlen was becoming deaf and this seemed to signal the end of his career. However, he had an operation in 1949 that restored his hearing and he went on making a handful of adventures and westerns through the 1950s and working more in the 1960s. He made 15 westerns for producer A.C. Lyles, who worked with the old western stars.
Besides movies, Arlen also appeared on television and in commercials. After leaving the business in the late 1960s, he was coaxed back to the screen for three small roles in films that were released the same year that he died.- Bronx born, stocky Italian-American actor who only appeared in a handful of films, yet earned some degree of immortality for his role as the loyal Corleone capo "Peter Clemenza" teaching Al Pacino how to shoot a crooked police captain in the iconic gangster film The Godfather (1972). He was originally a construction company manager, then he gained work with the New Yiddish Theatre, before breaking into film near his thirtieth birthday. However in 1970, in only his fourth film, Castellano received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his performance in Lovers and Other Strangers (1970) and came to the attention of casting agents for The Godfather (1972). After his strong showing as a tough hoodlum in The Godfather (1972), he became somewhat typecast as a screen criminal and appeared in further crime films including Honor Thy Father (1973) and Gangster Wars (1981).
He died in December 1988 from a heart attack at the age of 55. - Richard Ramirez was a drifter from Texas who ended up in Los Angeles (the serial killer capital of the world) in the early 1980s when 5 serial killers where committing crimes independent of each other.
Ramirez worked as a car mechanic and did odd jobs while in Los Angeles. He was fascinated with "satanism" and would play the rock band AC/DC's song "Night Prowler" on his stereo for hours on end. His first murder occurred in June 1984. His modus operandi was to break into his victim's house late at night through an unlocked window. Then he would threaten them in their beds with either a gun or another weapon. He would either shoot or club his victims to death and then mutilate their bodies. His oldest victim was 84 and his youngest only 6 years. In between his murders he would sometimes just abduct young girls, sexually molest them and then let them go. He began killing again on March 17, 1985. This time one of his victims survived and gave police a description her assailant--tall, Hispanic, curly hair, bulging eyes and wide-spaced, rotting teeth! The police began to check with local dentists because they believed their killer needed to have major dental work done. Most of Ramirez's initial targets were in and around the Montery Park area of Los Angeles. On March 27, 1985, in Whitier he beat a man to death and then carved out his wife's eyes and took them with him. On May 29 he left satanic pentagrams on one victim's body and on the walls. On July 20 he killed a total of 5 victims in 2 different locations. On August 8 authorities released information to the public that they were looking for a new serial killer dubbed "The Night Stalker". Ramirez then left Los Angeles for San Francisco, and the killings soon began there. On August 28 al stolen car from one of the "Night Stalker" murders was recovered near Mission Viejo. Police found fingerprints on the backside of the rear-view mirror. They matched Ramirez's, whose prints were on file because he had previously been arrested for traffic and drug violations. The police believed they had their killer.
They checked at places where Ramirez was known to have worked and found that he closely matched surviving victims' descriptions of the killer. On August 30, 1985 his mugshot made its way to the television and newspapers. On August 31 he was recognized by residents of an East Los Angeles neighborhood as he was walking down a street. They chased him and, though he tried to escape by attempting to steal a car, they caught him. Someone called police, and by the time they arrived the crowd had almost beaten him to death.
On September 29, 1985, he was charged with, among other felonies, 14 murder and 22 sexual assault charges. When Ramirez appeared in court he had a pentagram drawn on his palm that he proudly displayed and proclaimed, "Hail Satan!" Jury selection began on by July 22, and he went on trial. On September 20, 1989, he was found guilty of 13 murders and 30 felonies. He was sentenced to death. - Actor
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Richard Roxburgh is an Australian actor, writer and producer who is known for portraying Dracula in the 2004 cult classic monster movie Van Helsing starring Hugh Jackman, Hugh Stamp in Mission: Impossible 2 and for his collaborations with Baz Luhrmann, particularly Moulin Rouge. He is married to his Van Helsing co-star Silvia Colloca since 2004 and has three children with her.- Actor
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Richard Horvitz began acting professionally at the age of 10. As a child, he appeared in numerous stage productions. Among the most notable, the musical "Oliver!", starring Dick Shawn and Stubby Kaye. Also as a child, Richard starred in numerous commercials and made many television guest appearances on such shows as Diff'rent Strokes (1978), Head of the Class (1986), You Can't take it with you, Rags to Riches and many more. As an adult, Richard attended UCLA before leaving to star in the TBS original TV series Safe at Home (1985). In 1987, Richard starred along with Mark Harmon and Kirstie Alley in the Carl Reiner-directed film, Summer School (1987), for Paramount Studios. Most recently, Richard co-starred in the Warner Bros. film, The Informant! (2009) as Matt Damon's attorney, "Bob Zaideman". In 2011, Richard can be seen, alongside Steve Carell, in Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011). Other notable films include Race to Space (2001), The Legend of Galgameth (1996) for the Disney Channel and also the film Storm (1999), starring Martin Sheen. Richard also continues to make guest appearances on television, including numerous appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992) and Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2003). Fans of animation will recognize many of Richard's iconic characters, including "Zim" on Nickelodeon's Invader ZIM (2001), "Billy" on Cartoon Networks' The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy (2003) ("The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy"), "Dagget" on Nickelodeon's The Angry Beavers (1997) and many more. Video game titles include, "Psychonauts", "Destroy All Humans", "Kinectimals", "Metal Gear Solid 4" "Ratchet and Clank: Crack in Time" and many other games. Savvy viewers will also recognize Richard as the "Green Grapes" in the Fruit of the Loom commercials.- Actor
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American actor of commanding presence and powerful voice, prolific on screen since 1980 and frequently cast in authoritarian roles as judges, attorneys, police chiefs or senior military officers. Richard Edward Gant graduated from California State University - East Bay with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Visual and Performing Arts and from Samuel Merritt University in 1967 with an Associate of Arts degree in Liberal Arts and Afro-American Studies. Gant spent four years in the Air Force as a radar operator, before moving to New York to work off-Broadway as actor and director on some 35 productions. In 1978, he appeared alongside Morgan Freeman and Dorian Harewood in The Mighty Gents, a play about the decline of a once-feared Newark black youth gang. In films, he is perhaps best known as retired boxing promoter and manager George Washington Duke (the main antagonist in Rocky V (1990)), a role for which he was handpicked by Sylvester Stallone.
Gant's notable TV appearances have included the ill-fated livery stable owner Arnette Hostetler in HBO's Deadwood (2004); Captain Richard Page, commander of Special Unit 2 (2001), a secret police task force battling mythological entities in Chicago; Captain Edward "Mackie" MacDougan, an Earthforce commander sympathetic to Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) in Babylon 5 (1993); Dr. Russell Ford in the popular daytime soap General Hospital (1963); car dealership owner Owen Thoreau Sr., Andre Braugher's on-screen father in Men of a Certain Age (2009) and snarky English teacher Ray Hayward in Mr. Iglesias (2019). His numerous guest roles have included appearances in Miami Vice (1984), L.A. Law (1986), NYPD Blue (1993), Smallville (2001), Charmed (1998) and, more recently, NCIS: Los Angeles (2009).
In 2006, Gant co-founded PanAfricanist, a digital solutions company which focuses "on designing and developing cultural connectivity infrastructures." He is married to the costume designer and director Arline Burks Gant.- Actor
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Born in Santa Monica, California, USA, Richard Hatch was studying classical piano at the age of eight, and knew he wanted to carve out a career as a performer before he reached his teens. After attending Harbor College in San Pedro, he joined a Los Angeles repertory company with which he traveled to New York City in 1967. He performed in the plays "Song of Walt Whitman", "Young Rebels" and a production called "Exercise", which Richard directed. Richard was cast as the original "Philip Brent" in the soap All My Children (1970) in 1970. He later played "Inspector Dan Robbins" on the television series The Streets of San Francisco (1972). Richard Hatch is best remembered for his portrayal of "Apollo" on the series, Battlestar Galactica (1978).- Actor
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Richard Philip Lewis was born on June 29, 1947 in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Englewood, New Jersey. He went to Dwight Morrow High School and Ohio State University, graduating in 1969 with a degree in marketing and communications. Lewis wrote ad copy in New Jersey while also writing jokes for comedians such as Morty Gunty. He finally got the nerve to perform his own jokes in 1971 at New York's Improvisation and Pips.
After appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962) in 1974, he continued to tour and hone his act with help from David Brenner and Robert Klein. His film Diary of a Young Comic (1979) aired in the Saturday Night Live (1975) time-slot. His work on cable "I'm in Pain" for Showtime in 1988, The I'm Exhausted Concert (1988) earned a nomination from American Comedy Awards for Funniest Male Performer in a Television Special (for HBO); Richard Lewis: I'm Doomed (1990) (HBO) won him a second Ace Nomination for Best Stand-Up Comedy Special. His Richard Lewis: The Magical Misery Tour (1996) was filmed at New York's "Bottom Line" in December 1996. In December 1989, he performed to an SRO crowd at Carnegie Hall.- Actor
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Richard Lineback was born on 4 February 1952 in Frankfurt, Germany. He is an actor, known for Speed (1994), Natural Born Killers (1994) and The Ring (2002).- Actor
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Richard Libertini was born in E. Cambridge, Massachusetts, to parents who had come to America from southern Italy. Having grown up in a household where both Italian and English were spoken, he developed an ear for foreign accents. A facility he would later use to advantage on stage and in films.
He graduated from Emerson College in Boston, and for a while earned a living as a trumpet player in the Boston area. Later, he moved to New York, where he teamed up with two former college classmates, MacIntyre Dixon and Lynda Segal, to create an off-Broadway revue called "Stewed Prunes." (This was during the coffee house revolution in the 1960s. Bob Dylan was playing around the corner.) The show was quite successful and after running a year in New York they took it on the road. While playing Chicago, he was asked to join the renowned Second City Improvisational Theatre Group, an association which continues to the present.
After a number of years doing stage work in New York (Woody Allen's Don't Drink the Water (1969) and Paul Sills' Story Theatre (1971) among many others) he eventually moved to L.A. where he began doing films. Three of his most memorable characters are the Spanish-American dictator in The In-Laws (1979) with Alan Arkin and Peter Falk, the Tibetan Mystic in All of Me (1984) with Steve Martin, and Lily Tomlin and the justice of the peace in Best Friends (1982) with Goldie Hawn and Burt Reynolds. Other films include Fletch (1985) with Chevy Chase and Popeye (1980) with Robin Williams.- Director
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Richard Marquand was born on 22 September 1937 in Llanishen, Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales, UK. He was a director and producer, known for Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983), Nowhere to Run (1993) and Jagged Edge (1985). He was married to Carol Bell and Josephine Marquand. He died on 4 September 1987 in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England, UK.- Actor
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Richard Francis McGonagle is an American actor from Boston. He is known for voicing Victor Sullivan from Uncharted, General Grievous from Star Wars before he was replaced by Matthew Wood, Odin from Samurai Jack, the Precursor Leader from Jak and Daxter, Four Arms from Ben 10, Bato from Avatar: The Last Airbender and Abin Sur from Green Lantern: First Flight.- Richard McCabe was born on 18 August 1960 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. He is an actor, known for The Constant Gardener (2005), Eye in the Sky (2015) and Notting Hill (1999).
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Masur has been active in the theatre with increasing frequency. His Broadway debut was in The Changing Room by David Storey (1973). More recently, Masur returned to Broadway in Michael Frayn's Democracy (2004-05), and, among his many off-Broadway and regional theatre appearances, are recent major roles in A Feminine Ending by Sarah Treem (Playwrights Horizons - 2007), and Mike Leigh's Two Thousand Years (The New Group - 2008).- Actor
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Charles Richard Moll was an American actor. He is perhaps best known for playing the role of Aristotle Nostradamus "Bull" Shannon, the bailiff on the NBC sitcom Night Court from 1984 to 1992. He has also done extensive work as a voice actor, typically using his deep voice to portray villainous characters in animation and video games, most notably the voice of Two-Face in Batman: The Animated Series and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Moll passed away on October 26, 2023 at the age of 80.- Actor
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Originally a student of playwriting at Columbia University, Richard Mulligan began his acting career in regional theater and soon after made his Broadway debut in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play "All the Way Home". In addition to his continuing Broadway career, Mulligan had successfully transferred his unique comedic talents to film and television. On the big screen, he had appeared in such films as Little Big Man (1970), The Big Bus (1976), Teachers (1984) and The Heavenly Kid (1985). He had also performed in a number of Blake Edwards' films, including S.O.B. (1981), Trail of the Pink Panther (1982), Micki + Maude (1984) and A Fine Mess (1986). Mulligan had made numerous guest-starring television appearances, but it was his role as Burt Campbell in Witt-Thomas-Harris' offbeat sitcom Soap (1977) that earned him his first Emmy Award. He also starred in the short-lived sitcom Reggie (1983). His movie-of-the-week and miniseries credits include Pueblo (1973), Poker Alice (1987), Harvey (1996) and the acclaimed Guess Who's Coming for Christmas? (1990) with Beau Bridges. He was the brother of director Robert Mulligan.- Actor
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Richard Epcar is an actor/voice actor-director who has voiced over 1,200 characters in Video games, Animation and Anime. Best known as the voice of Batou in the Ghost in the Shell franchise, The Joker in several Batman games, including Injustice: Gods Among Us and Injustice 2, Raiden in Mortal Kombat, and Ansem in Kingdom Hearts. Starting out in Robotech, you've heard him in Korra, Lupin, Monster, Transformers, Star Wars, Bleach, Gundam, Babylon 5, and Power Rangers to name a few. He's also in many games, including: Final Fantasy, Saints Row, Arkham Origins, Skyrim, MK vs. DC, Call of Duty, X-Com, Command & Conquer, Dead or Alive, Dead Space, World of Warcraft, League of Legends, Splinter Cell, Guilty Gears, and Resident Evil. Richard has voice directed many games including: Arkham Origins, Dead Island, Blue Dragon, Star Ocean, Unreal Tournament, Smackdown vs. Raw, and many shows including: GitS 2, The Reef, Robotech Shadow Chronicles, Lupin the Third, etc. Richard has also appeared on-camera, including: Warehouse 13, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Columbo, Diagnosis Murder, Matlock, Cheers, Days of our Lives, and General Hospital.- Actor
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Born in Avoca, Iowa and moved with his parents to Hollywood, California in the late 1940s, Richard Beymer acted in various films while attending North Hollywood High School. He enjoys making his own films and has a film used in a PBS series on the civil rights movement.- Actor
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A social misfit, Belzer was kicked out of every school he ever attended, due to his uncontrollable wit. His mother (Frances) died of breast cancer when Richard was 18. Four years later, his father (Charles) committed suicide. A dedication is written to Charles Belzer in Richard Belzer's "UFOs, JFK, and Elvis: Conspiracies You Don't Have To Be Crazy To Believe" (Ballantine Books, 1999).- Actor
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Probably best-remembered for his turbulent personal life with Elizabeth Taylor (whom he married twice), Richard Burton was nonetheless also regarded as an often brilliant British actor of the post-WWII period.
Burton was born Richard Walter Jenkins in 1925 into a Welsh (Cymraeg)-speaking family in Pontrhydyfen to Edith Maude (Thomas) and Richard Walter Jenkins, a coal miner. The twelfth of thirteen children, his mother died while he was a toddler and his father later abandoned the family, leaving him to be raised by an elder sister, Cecilia. An avid fan of Shakespeare, poetry and reading, he once said "home is where the books are". He received a scholarship to Oxford University to study acting and made his first stage appearance in 1944.
His first film appearances were in routine British movies such as Woman of Dolwyn (1949), Waterfront Women (1950) and Green Grow the Rushes (1951). Then he started to appear in Hollywood movies such as My Cousin Rachel (1952), The Robe (1953) and Alexander the Great (1956), added to this he was also spending considerable time in stage productions, both in the UK and USA, often to splendid reviews. The late 1950s was an exciting and inventive time in UK cinema, often referred to as the "British New Wave", and Burton was right in the thick of things, and showcased a sensational performance in Look Back in Anger (1959). He also appeared with a cavalcade of international stars in the World War II magnum opus The Longest Day (1962), and then onto arguably his most "notorious" role as that of Marc Antony opposite Elizabeth Taylor in the hugely expensive Cleopatra (1963). This was, of course, the film that kick-started their fiery and passionate romance (plus two marriages), and the two of them appeared in several productions over the next few years including The V.I.P.s (1963), The Sandpiper (1965), the dynamic Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) and The Taming of The Shrew (1967), as well as box office flops like The Comedians (1967). Burton did better when he was off on his own giving higher caliber performances, such as those in Becket (1964), the film adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play The Night of the Iguana (1964), the brilliant espionage thriller The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965) and alongside Clint Eastwood in the World War II action adventure film Where Eagles Dare (1968).
His audience appeal began to decline somewhat by the end of the 1960s as fans turned to younger, more virile male stars, however Burton was superb in Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) as King Henry VIII, he put on a reasonable show in the boring Raid on Rommel (1971), was over the top in the awful Villain (1971), gave sleepwalking performances in Hammersmith Is Out (1972) and Bluebeard (1972), and was wildly miscast in the ludicrous The Assassination of Trotsky (1972).
By the early 1970s, quality male lead roles were definitely going to other stars, and Burton found himself appearing in some movies of dubious quality, just to pay the bills and support family, including Divorce His - Divorce Hers (1973) (his last on-screen appearance with Taylor), The Klansman (1974), Brief Encounter (1974), Jackpot (1974) (which was never completed) and Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977). However, he won another Oscar nomination for his excellent performance as a concerned psychiatrist in Equus (1977). He appeared with fellow acting icons Richard Harris and Roger Moore in The Wild Geese (1978) about mercenaries in South Africa. While the film had a modest initial run, over the past thirty-five years it has picked up quite a cult following. His final performances were as the wily inquisitor "O'Brien" in the most recent film version of George Orwell's dystopian 1984 (1984), in which he won good reviews, and in the TV mini series Ellis Island (1984). He passed away on August 5, 1984 in Celigny, Switzerland from a cerebral hemorrhage.- Writer
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Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. He was a member of the Republican Party who previously served as a representative and senator from California and was the 36th vice president from 1953 to 1961. His five years in the White House saw reduction of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, detente with the Soviet Union and China, the first manned Moon landings, and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency and Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Nixon's second term ended early, when he became the only president to resign from office, following the Watergate scandal.- Actor
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Richard Roundtree shot to fame as the ultra-hip, flamboyantly-dressed -- not to mention charismatic-- private eye John Shaft. The film Shaft (1971) spawned a genre, two sequels and a series. It made Roundtree a household name, and, for a while, one of the hottest box-office stars in Hollywood. As New York Times reviewer Vincent Canby put it: "Shaft is the sort of man who can drink five fingers of scotch without gagging or his eyes watering. He moves through Whitey's world with perfect ease and aplomb, but never loses his independence, or his awareness of where his life is really at." Rather aptly, Roundtree has been described as blaxploitation's James Bond.
Fame and success did not come at once. The son of Kathryn (a nurse and/or maid), and John Roundtree (employed variously as a garbage collector and caterer), Richard was born in New Rochelle, New York. During high school, he excelled at football and duly won an athletic scholarship at Southern Illinois University. However, he dropped out in 1963 and worked a succession of different jobs, including as janitor and salesman. He became a fashion model after being signed by Eunice Johnson of Ebony Magazine, later posing as an advertising model for a brand of hair grease and for Salem cigarettes. Deciding to give acting a go, Roundtree returned to New York to take drama lessons. In 1967, he joined the acclaimed Negro Ensemble Company, working alongside people like Robert Hooks, Rosalind Cash and Moses Gunn. He was soon cast in several off-Broadway productions and had a first headlining role as boxing legend Jack Johnson in The Great White Hope.
In 1971, Roundtree, then a virtual unknown in show biz, ignited the screen as the macho sleuth Shaft. Slickly directed by Gordon Parks and filmed on location in Harlem, Greenwich Village and Times Square, the picture was a tangible box-office hit, which satisfied both black and white audiences alike and likely saved a struggling MGM from impending bankruptcy. Shaft can also be said to have spawned the blaxploitation action genre of the 70s. Roundtree went on to star in two less successful sequels (Shaft's Big Score! (1972) and Shaft in Africa (1973)) and a series. He reprised his character for a 2000 motion picture which starred Samuel L. Jackson as John Shaft's nephew.
Down the line, Roundtree portrayed a few other robust characters: a Union army deserter teaming up with a crippled Indian to escape a sadistic bounty hunter in Charley-One-Eye (1973), a professional jewel thief in Diamonds (1975) (alternatively titled 'Diamond Shaft'-- a curious coincidence), a treasure hunter in Day of the Assassin (1979) and a Zimbabwean guerrilla in Game for Vultures (1979). By the mid-80s, however, the actor found himself increasingly relegated to the supporting cast as conventional establishment figures, often police or army officers.Television afforded him several good roles, notably in the Emmy Award-winning miniseries Roots (1977) and as former slave-turned gunslinger Isaiah "Ice" McAdams in Outlaws (1986). He subsequently had recurring roles in the cast of the soap Generations (1989) (as a doctor), the drama Being Mary Jane (2013) (as the titular talk show host's dad) and (as a grandfather) in the sitcom Family Reunion (2019).
Roundtree's accolades have included an MTV Lifetime Achievement Award for Shaft in 1994, a Peabody Award in 2002 and a Black Theater Alliance Award Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.
Though diagnosed with male breast cancer in 1993 and having undergone both chemotherapy and a double mastectomy, Roundtree bravely soldiered on in his chosen profession and continued to act on screen right up to his death from pancreatic cancer on October 24 2023, at the age of 81.- Actor
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Richard Widmark established himself as an icon of American cinema with his debut in the 1947 film noir Kiss of Death (1947), in which he won a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination as the killer Tommy Udo. Kiss of Death (1947) and other noir thrillers established Widmark as part of a new generation of American movie actors who became stars in the post-World War II era. With fellow post-War stars Kirk Douglas and Robert Mitchum, Widmark brought a new kind of character to the screen in his character leads and supporting parts: a hard-boiled type who does not actively court the sympathy of the audience. Widmark was not afraid to play deeply troubled, deeply conflicted, or just downright deeply corrupt characters.
After his debut, Widmark would work steadily until he retired at the age of 76 in 1990, primarily as a character lead. His stardom would peak around the time he played the U.S. prosecutor in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) as the 1950s segued into the 1960s, but he would continue to act for another 30 years.
Richard Weedt Widmark was born in Sunrise Township, Minnesota, to Ethel Mae (Barr) and Carl Henry Widmark. His father was of Swedish descent and his mother of English and Scottish ancestry. He has said that he loved the movies from his boyhood, claiming, "I've been a movie bug since I was 4. My grandmother used to take me". The teenaged Widmark continued to go to the movies and was thrilled by Dracula (1931) and Frankenstein (1931). "I thought Boris Karloff was great", Widmark said. Although he loved the movies and excelled at public speaking while attending high school, Widmark attended Lake Forest College with the idea of becoming a lawyer. However, he won the lead role in a college production of, fittingly enough, the play "Counsellor-at-Law", and the acting bug bit deep. After taking his bachelor of arts degree in 1936, he stayed on at Lake Forest as the Assistant Director of Speech and Drama. However, he soon quit the job and moved to New York to become an actor, and by 1938 he was appearing on radio in "Aunt Jenny's Real Life Stories". He made his Broadway debut in 1943 in the play "Kiss and Tell" and continued to appear on stage in roles that were light-years away from the tough cookies he would play in his early movies.
After World War II, he was signed by 20th Century-Fox to a seven-year contract. After seeing his screen test for the role of Tommy Udo, 20th Century-Fox boss Darryl F. Zanuck insisted that the slight, blonde Widmark - no one's idea of a heavy, particularly after his stage work - be cast as the psychopath in Kiss of Death (1947), which had been prepared as a Victor Mature vehicle. Even though the role was small, Widmark stole the picture. The publicity department at 20th Century-Fox recommended that exhibitors market the film by concentrating on thumping the tub for their new antihero. "Sell Richard Widmark" advised the studio's publicity manual that an alert 20th Century-Fox sent to theater owners. The manual told local exhibitors to engage a job printer to have "wanted" posters featuring Widmark's face printed and pasted up. He won a Golden Globe and an Oscar nod for the part, which led to an early bout with typecasting at the studio. Widmark played psychotics in The Street with No Name (1948) and Road House (1948) and held his own against new Fox superstar Gregory Peck in the William A. Wellman western Yellow Sky (1948), playing the villain, of course. When his pressuring the studio to let him play other parts paid off, his appearance as a sailor in Down to the Sea in Ships (1949) made headlines: Life magazine's March 28, 1949, issue featured a three-page spread of the movie headlined "Widmark the Movie Villain Goes Straight". He was popular, having captured the public imagination, and before the decade was out, his hand- and footprints were immortalized in concrete in the court outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
The great director Elia Kazan cast Widmark in his thriller Panic in the Streets (1950), not as the heavy (that role went to Jack Palance) but as the physician who tracks down Palance, who has the plague, in tandem with detective Paul Douglas. Widmark was establishing himself as a real presence in the genre that later would be hailed as film noir. Having proved he could handle other roles, Widmark didn't shy away from playing heavies in quality pictures. The soon-to-be-blacklisted director Jules Dassin cast him in one of his greatest roles, as the penny-ante hustler Harry Fabian in Night and the City (1950). Set in London, Widmark's Fabian manages to survive in the jungle of the English demimonde, but is doomed. Widmark was masterful in conveying the desperation of the criminal seeking to control his own fate but who is damned, and this performance also became an icon of film noir. In that same year, he appeared in Oscar-winning writer-director Joseph L. Mankiewicz's No Way Out (1950) as a bigot who instigates a race riot.
As the 1950s progressed, Widmark played in westerns, military vehicles, and his old stand-by genre, the thriller. He appeared with Marilyn Monroe (this time cast as the psycho) in Don't Bother to Knock (1952) and made Pickup on South Street (1953) that same year for director Samuel Fuller. His seven-year contract at Fox was expiring, and Zanuck, who would not renew the deal, cast him in the western Broken Lance (1954) in a decidedly supporting role, billed beneath not only Spencer Tracy but even Robert Wagner and Jean Peters. The film was well respected, and it won an Oscar nomination for best screenplay for the front of Hollywood 10 blacklistee Albert Maltz. Widmark left Fox for the life of a freelance, forming his own company, Heath Productions. He appeared in more westerns, adventures and social dramas and pushed himself as an actor by taking the thankless role of the Dauphin in Otto Preminger's adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan (1957), a notorious flop that didn't bring anyone any honors, neither Preminger, his leading lady Jean Seberg, nor Widmark. In 1960, he was appearing in another notorious production, John Wayne's ode to suicidal patriotism, The Alamo (1960), with the personally liberal Widmark playing Jim Bowie in support of the very conservative Wayne's Davy Crockett. Along with character actor Chill Wills, Widmark arguably was the best thing in the movie.
In 1961, Widmark acquitted himself quite well as the prosecutor in producer-director Stanley Kramer's Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), appearing with the Oscar-nominated Spencer Tracy and the Oscar-winning Maximilian Schell, as well as with superstar Burt Lancaster and acting genius Montgomery Clift and the legendary Judy Garland (the latter two winning Oscar nods for their small roles). Despite being showcased with all this thespian firepower, Widmark's character proved to be the axis on which the drama turned. A little later, Widmark appeared in two westerns directed by the great John Ford, with co-star James Stewart in Two Rode Together (1961) and as the top star in Ford's apologia for Indian genocide, Cheyenne Autumn (1964). On Two Rode Together (1961), Ford feuded with Jimmy Stewart over his hat. Stewart insisted on wearing the same hat he had for a decade of highly successful westerns that had made him one of the top box office stars of the 1950s. Both he and Widmark were hard-of-hearing (as well as balding and in need of help from the makeup department's wigmakers), so Ford would sit far away from them while directing scenes and then give them directions in a barely audible voice. When neither one of the stars could hear their director, Ford theatrically announced to his crew that after over 40 years in the business, he was reduced to directing two deaf toupees. It was testimony to the stature of both Stewart and Widmark as stars that this was as far as Ford's baiting went, as the great director could be extraordinarily cruel.
Widmark continued to co-star in A-pictures through the 1960s. He capped off the decade with one of his finest performances, as the amoral police detective in Don Siegel's gritty cop melodrama Madigan (1968). With Madigan, one can see Widmark's characters as a progression in the evolution of what would become the late 1960s nihilistic antihero, such as those embodied by Clint Eastwood in Siegel's later Dirty Harry (1971). In the 1970s, he continued to make his mark in movies and, beginning in 1971, in television. In movies, he appeared primarily in supporting roles, albeit in highly billed fashion, in such films as Sidney Lumet's Murder on the Orient Express (1974), Robert Aldrich's Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977), and Stanley Kramer's The Domino Principle (1977). He even came back as a heavy, playing the villainous doctor in Coma (1978).
In 1971, in search of better roles, he turned to television, starring as the President of the U.S. in the TV miniseries Vanished (1971). His performance in the role brought Widmark an Emmy nomination. He resurrected the character of Madigan for NBC in six 90-minute episodes that appeared as part of the rotation of "NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie" for the fall 1972 season. Widmark was married for 55 years to playwright Jean Hazlewood, from 1942 until her death in 1997 (they had one child, Anne, who was born in 1945). He lived quietly and avoided the press, saying in 1971, "I think a performer should do his work and then shut up". Los Angeles Times critic Kevin Thomas thought that Widmark should have won an Oscar nomination for his turn in When the Legends Die (1972) playing a former rodeo star tutoring Frederic Forrest's character.
It is surprising to think that Kiss of Death (1947) represented his sole Oscar nomination, but with the rise of respect for film noir around the time his career began tapering off in the '70s, he began to be reevaluated as an actor. Unlike Bogart, who did not live to see his reputation flourish after his death, Widmark became a cult figure well before he retired.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Richard White was born on 4 August 1953 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. He is an actor, known for Beauty and the Beast (1991), House of Mouse (2001) and Great Performances (1971). He was previously married to Sharon Halley.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Richard Earl Thomas is an American actor. He is best known for his leading role as budding author John-Boy Walton in the CBS drama series The Waltons for which he won an Emmy Award from two nominations and received two Golden Globe Award nominations. He also starred in the 1990 television mini-series adaptation of Stephen King's epic horror novel It and played Special Agent Frank Gaad on FX's spy thriller series The Americans.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Towering 7' 2" tall actor who cornered the market on playing giants, intimidating henchmen, bayou swamp monsters and steel toothed villains! Kiel worked in numerous jobs including as a night club bouncer and a cemetery plot salesman, before breaking into film & TV in several minor roles in the late 1950s / early 1960s. Noted among these was the alien "Kanamit" in the classic The Twilight Zone (1959) episode "To Serve Man", and terrorizing Arch Hall Jr. while clad in a loincloth in the prehistoric caveman meets virile teenage drama Eegah (1962).
Kiel turned up in two episodes of the classic horror TV series Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974). On one occasion playing a Native American evil spirit with the ability to transform into various animals. On his second appearance, Kiel was unrecognizable as a Spanish moss covered, Louisiana swamp monster brought to life by a patient involved in deep sleep therapy.
However, his biggest break came in 1977 when he was cast as the unstoppable, steel toothed henchman "Jaws" in the finest Roger Moore film of the Bond series The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). Such was Kiel's popularity with movie audiences, that his character was brought back for the next Bond outing Moonraker (1979). However, audiences were quite split on opinions when Kiel's "Jaws" character changes sides near the film's conclusion and assists 007, Roger Moore, in saving the Earth.
Over the next few years, Kiel appeared in relatively non-demanding comedy or fantasy type films taking advantage of his physical stature and presence. Kiel then decided to try his hand behind the camera and co-wrote and produced, plus took the lead role, in the well received family movie The Giant of Thunder Mountain (1990). Demand for Kiel's unique attributes dropped very sharply in the 1990's, leading to only a handful of roles including reprising his "Jaws" character in the Matthew Broderick film Inspector Gadget (1999). In 2002, Kiel penned his informative autobiography entitled "Making it BIG in the movies". He passed away in 2014.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Richard Morant was born on 30 October 1945 in Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Last Place on Earth (1985), Poldark (1975) and Jack the Ripper (1988). He was married to Valerie Buchanan and Melissa Louise Fairbanks. He died on 9 November 2011 in Richmond, Surrey, England, UK.- Producer
- Executive
Richard Abramowitz is known for Deconstructing the Beatles' White Album (2016), Altman (2014) and The GoodTimesKid (2005).- Richard Adams spent his first 52 years in relative anonymity. And when he did complete a book that he wrote, he struggled to find anyone to publish it.
Richard George Adams was born on 9 May 1920, in Newbury, Berkshire. He was the son of a country doctor and was brought up in the rolling countryside with views towards the real Watership Down, on the Hampshire border. One of his earliest memories was seeing a local man pushing a handcart full of dead rabbits down the street. "It made me realise, in an instant, that rabbits were things and that it was only in a baby's world that they were not."
He suffered the fate of many middle-class boys of the period when he was sent to boarding school at the age of nine, where, by all accounts, he had a miserable time. He won a scholarship to Worcester College, Oxford, but his education was interrupted by World War Two and he served for five years in the Army before returning to his studies. He joined the civil service and spent part of his career managing the clean air programme designed to reduce pollution, especially that caused by the many coal fires still burning in British households. The event that changed his life occurred on a car journey with his family to see Twelfth Night at Stratford-upon-Avon. His bored children asked for a story and he began telling them a tale about a group of rabbits attempting to escape from their threatened warren.
Adams was persuaded to write it all down, a process that took him more than two years, but he was, at first, unable to find a publisher. Many of his rejection letters complained that the book was too long and his characters did not fit the common perception of cuddly bunnies. His rabbits were described with biological realism; they defecated, had sex and engaged in violent battles for dominance. Eventually, in 1972, after 14 rejections, the publisher Rex Collings saw the potential and agreed to take it on with an initial print run of 2,500 copies.
It was hailed as a children's classic, going on to sell more than 50 million copies, helped along by readings on BBC radio, and a dramatic performance in London's Regent's Park. Watership Down sold particularly well in the US where canny distributors placed it on the adult publishing list. On his promotional tours across the Atlantic, Adams played the American idea of the archetypical Englishman, wearing a bowler hat and insisting on English marmalade and mustard wherever he went. The book, and a subsequent animated film in 1978, became synonymous with rabbits and at least one enterprising butcher advertised: "You've read the book, you've seen the film, now eat the cast."
Inevitably it attracted criticism from some highbrow reviewers. "There is something to be said for myxomatosis," was one caustic comment. The sudden flow of wealth enabled Adams to retire from the civil service and become a full-time writer. It also drove him into tax exile on the Isle of Man, although he later returned to his roots in southern England. By the time Watership Down was published, he was already writing his second book Shardik, the novel he considered his best work.
It is an epic tale of a bear who is a god in an imaginary world and who is abused by the humans in the story. Shardik did not find favour among critics with some describing it as "preachy", a judgement with which Adams did not disagree. His commitment to animal welfare was expressed in his third novel, The Plague Dogs, an outspoken attack on animal experimentation. He admitted that his indignation about vivisection might have got the better of him but the book became another best-seller.
He became president of the RSPCA but his attempts to persuade the charity to adopt a more campaigning stance did not find favour with some of the more conservative members of the ruling council. He resigned just ahead of a vote which would have severely curtailed his presidential powers. Despite his campaigning for animals he insisted he was not a sentimentalist. He refused to condemn a decision to gas rabbits on the real Watership Down in 1998 after their burrows began undermining the hill. "If I saw a rabbit in my garden I'd shoot it," he once said.
In all, he wrote more than 20 books, including The Girl in a Swing, a ghostly love story with an undercurrent of eroticism, and a prequel to Shardik - entitled Maia - which was criticised for its sexual and sado-masochistic content. None of these books achieved the success of Watership Down and even a 1997 sequel, Tales from Watership Down, failed to capture the magic of the original. Richard Adams was essentially a traditional Englishman with a love of the countryside and a belief that, somehow, things were better in the past. It is perhaps surprising that this natural conservative, from a conventional middle-class background, should have written a book which had such a revolutionary impact on children's literature.
Richard Adams died on Christmas Eve 2016, aged 96. - Music Department
- Composer
- Producer
Richard Adler was born on 3 August 1921 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a composer and producer, known for Goodfellas (1990), The Family (2013) and Snatch (2000). He was married to Susan A. Ivory, Ritchey Banker, Sally Ann Howes, Marion Hart Rogier and Mary St. George. He died on 21 June 2012 in Southampton, New York, USA.- Art Department
- Visual Effects
- Special Effects
Richard Ewan was born on 4 January 1965 in London, England, UK. He is known for Shutter Island (2010), Watchmen (2009) and The Day After Tomorrow (2004). He has been married to Wendy Anne Ewan since 31 August 1997. They have two children.- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Since graduating from the Royal College of Music in 1972, at the age of 18, Richard Harvey has been a ubiquitous and diverse presence on the London music scene, not only as a prolific composer and conductor but an exceptional virtuoso performer of almost 700 instruments from around the world - blown, plucked, keyed, bowed, beaten and programmed.
Richard's early forays into the professional world involved performing on medieval and Renaissance-era instruments with early music ensemble Musica Reservata, and his own progressive rock and folk band, Gryphon, in which he toured three continents, recorded five albums, and played over 30 different instruments. Richard has come a long way since starting recorder lessons at the age of four, progressing via a stint as first clarinet with the British Youth Symphony Orchestra to recording for and collaborating with major contemporary composers including John Williams, Stanley Myers, Harry Gregson-Williams, Sir Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello and many others. Most recently Richard and long term collaborator and Hollywood legend Hans Zimmer co-composed the score for Onyx's 2016 production 'The Little Prince', an enchanting animation directed by Mark Osborne. Prior to this, Richard conducted the orchestra for Hans Zimmer's 2014 'Interstellar', an adventure sci-fi starring Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway. Richard's collaborations continued in 2014 with Bill Conran with a co-composition for the score of horror film, 'Curse of the Pheonix'. Working with celebrated composer Maurice Jarre in the mid 1970s fuelled Richard's rich career as a sought-after film composer, and he has scored over 70 television and film projects to date, from British television series, documentaries and feature length TV films, to major Hollywood movies. He contributed the much-loved Kyrie for the Magdalene to Hans Zimmer's score for the smash hit "The Da Vinci Code" (2006). Richard is also an important presence in the Thai film industry, composing for four of the biggest movies ever produced in Thailand, including the epic "King Naresuan" (Part I, 2006, Part II, 2007, and Part IV, 2011). He was honoured with a Royal invitation to work closely with executive producer Francis Ford Coppola and score the major historic movie "Suriyothai", now recognised as a classic of the Thai cinema. In addition, he has given concerts for Her Majesty the Queen and Princess Sirindhorn, and is proud to be co-founder of the ROSL/Conrad "Young Musician of Thailand" awards.
Setting scenes, creating atmosphere, pacing action and defining character, Richard has added an extra dimension to the visual medium. His talent as a composer of film and television music has been recognised with a British Academy Award and four Ivor Novello nominations. His score to Borough Films' controversial and International Emmy award-winning "Death of a President" won him the International Critic's Award at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival and was nominated under "Best Score for a Documentary Film or Television Program" at the 2007 Film and TV Music Awards.
In addition, Richard's skills as a multi-instrumentalist continue to be called upon for both live performances and feature films, including Disney's "The Lion King" (1994), "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" (2004), "Kingdom of Heaven" (2005), and "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" (2008). His passion for musical instruments, old and new, and his collection of more than 700, which he has accumulated over thirty years of world travel, mean that he is in high demand for a fascinating range of projects. He has appeared at venues as diverse as the Royal Albert Hall, the Sydney Opera House, Madison Square Garden, Venice's Teatro La Fenice, the Phuping Palace, Chiang Mai, and St Paul's Cathedral, both as soloist and as conductor. Richard has also made several classical albums, including a Classical Record of the Year, "Italian Recorder Concertos" (1982), which remains in Gramophone Magazine's Top 100. He was commissioned to write "Concerto Antico" (1995) for classical guitar virtuoso John Williams, which has been recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra and released by Sony, enjoying live performances around the world.
In a further display of his musical eclecticism, together with artist and writer Ralph Steadman, Richard was commissioned to compose and conduct a major cathedral piece for the 1989 Exeter Music Festival. The result was the hugely ambitious eco-oratorio "Plague and the Moonflower", which has now been performed and experienced as a seminal work and profound statement on environmental issues in numerous English cathedrals and music festivals, even as far away as Australia, and filmed for an award-winning BBC production. In 2009 Richard was commissioned to write a concerto for the sensational recorder player, Michala Petri, which was followed by another concerto commission for renowned violist Roger Chase. His Recorder Concerto (Concerto Incantato) has now been recorded by Ms Petri and released on CD, English Recorder Concertos, alongside works by Malcolm Arnold and Gordon Jacob.
Besides his professional projects, Richard runs a charity with a board of trustees made up of other UK-based professional musicians. Richard launched this ambitious new charity, the MAE Foundation (www.maefoundation.org.uk) in 2010, with the aim of bringing musical instruments and music teaching to the thousands of refugee children from Burma who live behind the wire in semi-permanent jungle camps along the Thai/Burmese border.
Richard lives in Surrey, where he pursues his love of cricket, and enjoys winters in Thailand, where he pursues his love of warmth, travel and adding to his ever-growing collection of musical instruments.- Richard Ainley was born on 22 December 1910 in Stanmore, Middlesex, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Frog (1937), Lady with Red Hair (1940) and As You Like It (1936). He was married to Rowena Woolf, Betzi Beaton and Ethel Glendinning. He died on 19 May 1967 in Muswell Hill, London, England, UK.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Richard Andrew Jones was born on 9 November 1946 in San Antonio, Texas, USA. He is an actor, known for Under Siege (1992), Bernie (2011) and Where the Heart Is (2000). He is married to Karen Jones.- Richard Allan Jones is an actor, director, musician, singer, and writer. His love of performing emerged early when at the age of three he sang in his church basement imitating Frank Sinatra. Middle and High School included talent shows, school plays/musicals, band, choir, and sports. He added a partner and toured Ohio imitating The Smothers Brothers after graduation. Performing continued at Ohio State, while lettering in swimming and tennis, and working full-time at radio stations WCOL and WBLY. He proudly served in the U.S. Army as a 1st Lt. during Vietnam era, working as AD on training films and the TV program "The Big Picture" at the Astoria Film Studio in NYC. After discharge, he directed television at COAX Cable TV in Columbus, Ohio. He returned to OSU earning a second BA, this time in theater/film, acting in a dozen plays, local TV shows like "The Judge," and performing in area clubs with his brother Bill, as the fabulous "Jones Brothers." He also wrote/directed his first film, and acted in a national documentary "Do More than Dream," as well as writing/performing the title song. An MA from Ohio State in Journalism led to a twenty-plus-year career in public relations/marketing, more community theater, as well as publishing his first novel, "Drafted" under the pen name Rich Allan. Moving with his family to LA in 2008, he has since appeared in three dozen films and TV shows, did character voice-overs for video games & movies, finished a second novel, and continues his love of music, writing songs, and performing with his 60s rock band, Revolution Road. Like most actors, he is still searching for his first big break.
- Producer
- Writer
- Actor
Richard Akel is a Film/TV Writer and Producer; Legal Counsel. He holds degrees in law (LL.B. Hons. Auckland, NZ, and LL.M. Cambridge, England), a Diploma of Trial Advocacy (National Institute Trial Advocacy, USA), and is admitted to the Bar in England (barrister) and America (attorney). He also has a Master's degree in Fine Arts from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA (major in Motion Pictures/TV).
He served in the N.Z. Army; is a strong supporter of LGBTQ+, Women's, Black/Brown and Indigenous equal rights; and currently lectures in English law at the Anglo-American University in Prague when not writing and producing films and TV series.
He's a prolific film/TV writer and has written or co-written numerous screenplays/teleplays for feature films and TV series, including Prague Sonata (lost Beethoven sonata drama/romance); Aphrodite's Doctor (biopic of German-Jewish doctor who discovered G Spot and developed first safe and effective IUD); Robeson (biopic of famous African-American scholar, sportsman, lawyer, entertainer and international civil-political rights activist, Paul Robeson); Sky Warriors (WWII fighter pilots feature and series); Supreme Affair (WWII romance between Allied Supreme Commander, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower and Irish-English beauty, Kay Summersby); Independent Woman (biopic of leading Academy Award® winner, Kate Hepburn); Pirate Queen (historical/action adventure biopic of Chinese pirate Ching Shih), Drone Assassin (US-Middle Eastern military/action adventure); Havana Rendezvous (dramedy based on 1959 meetings in Havana between Ernest Hemingway, Tennessee Williams, Ken Tynan, George Plimpton, Elaine Dundy, Jean Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Fidel Castro and Che Guevara during the exuberant spring time of the Cuban Revolution before it turned to darkness and suppression); Madness of Captain Cook (the great British explorer loses his judgment and life when he betrays the Hawaiians); Children of Aotearoa-the Long White Cloud (US-NZ teenage post-apocalyptic action adventure series).
Richard is represented in his capacity as a writer by the Dilia Agency, the largest theatre, literary and audio-visual agency in the Czech Republic.- Producer
- Director
Richard Alan Reid was born on 29 September 1984 in London, England, UK. He is a producer and director, known for Puppy Love (2023), The Black Demon (2023) and EXmas (2023). He has been married to Rachel Risen since 8 June 2016. They have two children.- An actor whose filmography comprises 307 films and TV series episodes can't have been in 307 memorable works. Which is the case of Richard (aka Dick) Alexander, one of those numerous character actors Hollywood used to over-consume without giving them the opportunity to really display their talents. Too bad because during the years 1926-1931, Alexander looked set to have an interesting career with supporting roles alongside Olga Baclanova (Lou's sweetheart in Josef von Sternberg's The Docks of New York (1928)), Bebe Daniels (Gonzales in Rio Rita (1929) and even the Divine Greta Garbo (The general's aide in The Mysterious Lady (1928). He also appeared in Lewis Milestone's antiwar masterpiece All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) as a German soldier. Unfortunately this was to be his swan song - with only a couple of exceptions such as Destination Unknown (1933) or The Scarlet Empress (1934)). As of 1931, Richard Alexander was to be hired either for minor (at times even very minor) parts in A Films (a warrior in The Crusades (1935), a farmer in The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936), a man with a pike in Marie Antoinette (1938)) or for supporting parts in hordes of mediocre westerns. Richard Alexander's tall figure, strong build and square-jawed face actually killed his career. The fault lies with the laziness of casting directors: Richard Alexander had given a good performance as a henchman in The Lone Star Ranger (1930), well, he would be a brutal henchman in every two run-of-the-mill westerns. Among the 300-odd roles he played, he was cast forty times as a henchman, no less! And if he was not the villain of the piece he was often credited as a strong, big, burly or tough guy. Sure he always made a good job of it but Richard Alexander had shown at the outset of his career how varied his acting could be and he would certainly rather not have repeated the same type of character over and over again. That is why playing Prince Barin, Buster Crabbe's loyal ally in the Flash Gordon (1936) serial must have been a breath of fresh air for him. Whatever the case may be, Richard Alexander continued bravely to be tough and burly on the screen, not retiring before the age of 72. Towards the end of his career, the aging performer also became an active member of the Screen Actors Guild, representing Hollywood extras. In 1989,Alexander passed away more or less forgotten in spite of his 307 screen appearances. He was 86.
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Richard Mann Allan was born in Jacksonville, Illinois on June 22, 1923 to a farmer father Robert and a dietitian mother Edna. He grew up with two brothers, Edward and Robert Jr. and a sister Catherine. He began taking dance classes when he was seven years old, and he also loved going to see Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals. He partnered up with a little girl from his dancing class to do their own version of Fred and Ginger dances and became popular locally. He grew up to become a well-known dancer-singer-actor in Jacksonville. He then earned a scholarship to the University of Illinois, where he joined the Theatre Arts Department. However, he was soon drafted to the army unit in Italy where he was assigned the officers' laundry detail. Immediately upon his discharge from service, he went to New York City to audition professionally for the first time in the Broadway musical "The Red Mill" (1945). He landed a speaking part and stayed for its entire Broadway and national tour. Once that ended, he immediately landed another job, in the 1948 Los Angeles production of "Naughty Marietta" where he danced. He stayed behind in Los Angeles, determined to get into the movies. His tall, dark and handsome looks landed him a job as a double for Montgomery Clift in A Place in the Sun (1951), where Clift complimented him by saying that he should have been the star. However, Allan would spend his entire film career being overshadowed by his more famous leading ladies. He danced with Esther Williams in Neptune's Daughter (1949) and Duchess of Idaho (1950) and with Betty Grable in Wabash Avenue (1950), My Blue Heaven (1950), and Call Me Mister (1951), with Ava Gardner in The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952), with Academy Award winner Susan Hayward in With a Song in My Heart (1952), and with Mitzi Gaynor in Bloodhounds of Broadway (1952). He had signed a contract with Twentieth Century Fox (hereinafter Fox), and they cast him as Marilyn Monroe's passionate lover who tries to kill her husband for her in Niagara (1953). The film became a hit and he was on the movie's poster with Monroe, and he won a Photoplay citation as "One of America's Most Promising Newcomers" in 1953. "Niagara" remains his best known role. Nevertheless, he spent the next few years at Fox testing for many leads, but only securing small uncredited roles, such as when he was turned down for the lead role in The Egyptian (1954) which went to Edmund Purdom only to end up with a uncredited bit role. His career never went further at Fox, and he blamed "lousy, lousy management". The disappointing years at Fox took its toll on him. He was doing a hat dance with a star for a film, but the star found it too difficult to perform, so Fox had wanted to photograph Allan from a distance to accommodate the star. He refused, and the studio retaliated by dropping his contract. When it seemed like Tony Curtis might not be available to do The Defiant Ones (1958), the producers approached him wanting a Curtis lookalike, but Allan retorted "Tell them to call me when they want someone who looks like Richard Allan". (Curtis later did become available to take the role, for which he earned his sole Academy Award nomination.) Since Hollywood had nothing to offer him, Allan felt he had no choice but to take German star Caterina Valente's offer to come to Germany and act with her in several films. She had first seem him dance in The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952) and thought he had potential. He remained there long enough to make a few more films with other actors. Eventually, he returned to Hollywood where he teamed with Diane Hartman in a popular nightclub act called "Hartman & Allan", where they performed at Ciro's nightclub in Los Angeles. However, when Ciro's closed its doors as a nitery for the last time in 1961, it also took down its prominent marquee that had "Hartman & Allan", thus ending Allan's career as an entertainer. In 1964, a middle-aged Allan began earning a living as a masseur, and Kim Novak had initially recommended his masseur services to people in the entertainment industry. Over time, he had developed a clientele that had no connections to show business. He also stopped having any contact with show business people, including former friends Jeffrey Hunter and his then-wife Barbara Rush, explaining that "When you aren't successful, people just aren't comfortable with having you around". In the late 1980s, he moved to Prospect, Kentucky to be closer to his brother Robert Jr. He remained there until his death of of lung cancer on September 6, 1999 at the age of 76. After his death, his body was sent over to be buried in his family plot in Gillham Cemetery in Illinois.- Richard Angarola was born on 1 September 1920 in Traverse City, Michigan, USA. He was an actor, known for Jeremiah Johnson (1972), The Undefeated (1969) and Hang 'Em High (1968). He was married to Dagmar A Woywodt and Hilda Simms. He died on 7 July 2008 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Richard Anders was born on 8 May 1934 in Madera County, California, USA. He is an actor, known for Devil's Angels (1967), The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993) and The High Chaparral (1967).- Producer
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Richard Appel was born on 21 May 1963 in New York, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for The Simpsons (1989), King of the Hill (1997) and A.U.S.A. (2003). He was previously married to Mona Simpson.- Writer
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Ricky Dene Gervais was born in a suburb of Reading, Berkshire, to Eva Sophia (House) and Lawrence Raymond Gervais, who was a hod carrier and labourer. His father was born in Ontario, Canada, of French-Canadian descent, and his mother was English. He was educated at Ashmead Comprehensive School and went on to study at University College, London, where he gained a degree in Philosophy.
After university, Gervais attempted to pursue a pop career with Seona Dancing, a duo he formed with a fellow student. Similar to many groups in the early 1980s, they were a synth-pop act with a somewhat pretentious name and exhibiting a strong musical influence by David Bowie. Gervais adopted a vocal style that has often been compared to Bowie; comedian Paul Merton would later joke that Bowie nicked their music. Seona Dancing were briefly signed to a recording contract and released two singles, "More to Lose" and "Bitter Heart". The latter was slightly reminiscent of Queen's "Body Language" from a year earlier, featuring a similar synthesizer riff. The act failed to breach the UK top 75 and earn a place in the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles, but clips have survived and they have been frequently used to tease Gervais in interviews. Despite his own lack of success, Gervais stayed within the music industry for a while and even spent time as the manager of Suede.
Gervais had to wait a long time before achieving the fame he had hoped would come with a pop career. In the 1990s he formed a writing partnership with Stephen Merchant. In 2000, he landed his own comedy chat show on Channel 4, Meet Ricky Gervais (2000), which attracted legendary guests such as Jimmy Savile, Michael Winner, Paul Daniels, Peter Purves, Stefanie Powers, Jim Bowen and Midge Ure. The series only ran for six episodes but a year later greater stardom came for Gervais with the debut of BBC comedy The Office (2001). Although it was not initially received to great acclaim or viewing figures, it is now often cited as one of the greatest comedy series of all time and has been credited with reinventing the sitcom. Gervais starred as the obnoxious and embarrassing office manager David Brent, who has since been voted in various polls one of the greatest comic characters. It also prompted an American remake, The Office (2005). Gervais had further success with another sitcom, Extras (2005), which attracted a series of celebrity guests, including Ben Stiller, Samuel L. Jackson and his musical idol David Bowie. It served as a satire on the entertainment industry and leading stars were happy to play along by performing exaggerated versions of themselves.
Gervais has become one of the most popular and omnipresent comedy performers of the 21st century, hosting the Golden Globe awards, lending his talent to films, becoming a voice artist and appearing on numerous talk shows. He has become one of the best known British comedy figures in America. He is also regularly the subject of controversy due to his dark comedy. Some critics have called him insensitive and outrageous. Gervais has responded by saying "offense is the collateral damage of free speech", he has said that he doesn't aim for a mass audience, he's just pleased he's managed to get one, and he has compared his style of comedy and the audience he has acquired with being Iggy Pop in preference to being Phil Collins.- Actor
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Rick began his career as a radio DJ while he was still at high school which led to him writing, producing and being on air in his own show. He joined the Canadian TV series, SCTV (1976), winning an Emmy for writing and portraying the character, Bob McKenzie, which became the basis for the film, Strange Brew (1983), which he co-wrote, co-directed and made his film acting debut. The character he played in Ghostbusters (1984) was based on a similar character he played on SCTV (1976).- Actor
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Rick Yune was born on 22 August 1971 in Washington D.C., USA. He is an actor and producer, known for The Fast and the Furious (2001), Die Another Day (2002) and Olympus Has Fallen (2013).- Actor
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Rick Hoffman was born on 12 June 1970 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor, known for Suits (2011), Billions (2016) and Thanksgiving (2023).- Actor
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He was born Richard Bartlett Schroder, Jr., in Staten Island, New York on April 13th, 1970. His mother, Diane Schroder was an employee at AT&T, which is also the same company that employed his father, Richard Bartlett Schroder, Sr.
Eventually working his way up to management from being a telephone repairmen, Rick's father had known his mother since they attended junior high together. After his older sister and he were born, Rick's mother quit her job to raise the children. A good-looking child, Rick's mother began taking him to photo shoots when he was only three months old. In his own words, he must have been a natural, because he started working right away, never having taken an acting lesson in his life.- Actor
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The King of stock car racing, Richard Petty retired from NASCAR competition after the 1992 season. During his storied career, he won 200 Winston Cup race (a feat that will never be equaled), seven Winston Cup championships (tied by Dale Earnhardt in 1994), and seven Daytona 500's. His 200th win came in the July 4th, 1984 Firecracker 400 at Daytona, when he beat Cale Yarborough by mere inches with President Ronald Reagan in attendance. Petty remains a fixture on the Winston Cup circuit. He still owns the familiar number 43 STP Pontiac team, and you can still find him signing autographs for his legion of fans. His son, Kyle Petty, is currently a NASCAR Winston Cup series driver.- Richard Childress was born on 21 September 1945 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
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Rick Allen was born on 1 November 1963 in Sheffield, England, UK. He is an actor and composer, known for Rock of Ages (2012), Balls of Fury (2007) and That's My Boy (2012). He has been married to Lauren Monroe since 10 October 2003. They have one child. He was previously married to Stacy Gilbert.- Actor
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Rick Aviles was born on 14 October 1952 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Waterworld (1995), Ghost (1990) and The Cannonball Run (1981). He died on 17 March 1995 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Make-Up Department
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Rick Baker was born on 8 December 1950 in Binghamton, New York, USA. He is an actor, known for Planet of the Apes (2001), Men in Black (1997) and The Wolfman (2010). He has been married to Silvia Abascal since 8 November 1987. They have two children. He was previously married to Elaine Alexander.- Producer
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Rick Berman was born on 25 December 1945 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Star Trek: Generations (1994) and Star Trek: Insurrection (1998). He has been married to Elizabeth Berman since March 1980.- Actor
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Sommer returned to Cleveland in 2008 to teach a master class at the Case Western Reserve University / Cleveland Play House graduate program. He earned an MFA in the program in 2004.
Sommer planned his future in improv comedy during his Play House days. He has performed with the Upright Citizens Brigade improv troupe, but the bulk of his career has been in television and film.
Sommer's career is a fulfillment of a childhood dream. He was born in Toledo, and lived in Rocky River and Cuyahoga Falls (Ohio). When he was eight his family moved to Stillwater, Minnesota and graduated from Stillwater Area High School in 1996 and went on to study theater at Concordia College in Moorhead.
He did odd jobs and improv after graduating from college, but wanted to act full time. He saw an ad in a theater magazine about the Cleveland Play House graduate program and applied.
He and his wife, Virginia Donohoe Sommer, met as graduate students. The couple moved to New York in 2004, married the following year and moved to Los Angeles in 2007. Virginia Sommer is a full-time mom to the couple's two children (Beatrice c. 2007 and Patrick Ryan, August 31, 2010).
At the start of his career, he wished for one legacy job -- something to tell the grandchildren about. With 'Mad Men' he has that.- Writer
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Rich Eisen was born on 24 June 1969 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Draft Day (2014), The Kid (2000) and That's My Boy (2012). He has been married to Suzy Schuster since 8 June 2003. They have three children.- Actor
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Richie Moriarty stars as Pete in the CBS sitcom Ghosts (2021). Richie is an actor, voice actor, and improviser and can be seen in What We Do in the Shadows (2019) on FX, in the Netflix hits Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015), Orange Is the New Black (2013) and House of Cards (2013), as well as Search Party (2016), The Last O.G. (2018), and recurring on Amazon's The Tick (2016). His also recurs on the animated shows Hamster & Gretel (2022), Stephen Colbert Presents Tooning Out The News (2020), and Pinkalicious & Peterrific (2018). Richie also appears in the Warner Brothers films How to Be Single (2016) and Going in Style (2017). In 2018, he starred with John Malkovich in a AFC Championship teaser on CBS that won four Sports Emmys.
Richie has performed at the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal as a prestigious New Face in their Character showcase. He performed for years as an actor on Maude Night at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in NYC as well other multiple other sketch shows at UCB. Richie is a graduate of Boston College.- Producer
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Ric Roman Waugh was born in Los Angeles, California, USA. Ric Roman is a producer and director, known for Shot Caller (2017), Angel Has Fallen (2019) and Greenland (2020). Ric Roman has been married to Tanya Ballinger since 24 September 2005. They have two children.- Actor
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Ric Young was born in June 1944 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He is an actor and writer, known for Seven Years in Tibet (1997), The Transporter (2002) and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984).- Actress
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Ricki Lake was born in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, surprisingly as a blond. She has one sister, who is one year younger than she, named Jennifer. Her father, Barry, is a pharmacist, and her mother, Jill, is a homemaker. The two currently reside in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ricki attended Hastings Elementary as a child, went on to Farragut Middle, and then attended Hastings High, for two years. At the end of her sophomore year, she transferred to the Professional Children's School, in New York, to focus on perfecting her craft as an actress. Also, Ricki began singing professionally at the age of nine, in cabarets and clubs. After finishing high school, she attended Ithaca College for one year. During final exams in her freshman year, she received a call from her agent, telling her to audition for the lead in a John Waters film. Unsurprisingly, she landed the role as "Tracy Turnblad." Thus, Hairspray (1988) marked Ricki Lake's movie debut. She then went on to act in 15 more movies and had a recurring role in ABC's China Beach (1988), for one season. At one point in her life, she hit rock-bottom. Then, she decided to take charge of her life and make a dramatic change. She began eating right and exercising and soon lost over 125 pounds. In 1993, she was chosen, out of a hundred people, to host her own daytime talk show. After only three years, Ricki Lake (1992) became rated second in its time frame. Also, in 1993, she met the man of her dreams. At a Halloween party, she locked eyes with Rob Sussman, a political illustrator, who was to become her husband. It was love at first sight, on both sides. The two married in Las Vegas in March 1994 but divorced in 2004.- Actor
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Rico Rodriguez was born on 31 July 1998 in College Station, Texas, USA. He is an actor, known for Modern Family (2009), The Muppets (2011) and Epic Movie (2007).- Actor
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Legendary actor Ricardo Montalban was the epitome of Latin elegance, charm and grace on film and television and in the late 1940s and early 1950s reinvigorated the Rudolph Valentino / Ramon Novarro "Latin Lover" style in Hollywood without achieving top screen stardom. Moreover, unlike most minority actors of his time, he fought to upscale the Latin (particularly, Mexican) image in Hollywood. His noted militancy may have cost him a number of roles along the way, but he gained respect and a solid reputation as a mover and shaker within the acting community while providing wider-range opportunities for Spanish-speaking actors via Los Angeles theater.
He was born in Mexico City on November 25, 1920, the youngest of four children to Castilian Spanish immigrants, Ricarda Merino and Jenaro Montalbán. His father was a dry goods store owner. Montalbán moved to Los Angeles as a teen and lived with his much older brother Carlos Montalbán, who was then pursuing show business as both an actor and dancer. Ricardo attended Fairfax High School in Hollywood and was noticed in a student play but passed on a screen test that was offered. Instead, he traveled with his brother to New York, where he earned a bit part in the Tallulah Bankhead stage vehicle "Her Cardboard Lover" in 1940, and won subsequent roles in the plays "Our Betters" and "Private Affair".
Returning to Mexico to care for his extremely ill mother, his dark good looks and magnetic style helped propel him into the Spanish-language film industry. After nearly a dozen or so films, he was on the verge of stardom in Mexico when Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer took an interest in him and he relocated back to Los Angeles. Making his Hollywood leading debut as a robust bullfighter and twin brother of MGM star Esther Williams in the "B"-level musical Fiesta (1947), he attracted immediate attention. His second film with Williams, On an Island with You (1948), led to a contract with the studio, where he routinely ignited "Latin Lover" sparks opposite such prime female stars as Cyd Charisse, Shelley Winters, Anne Bancroft, Pier Angeli, Laraine Day and (once again) Esther Williams, this time in Neptune's Daughter (1949) (one of his MGM extravaganzas opposite gorgeous Lana Turner was actually called Latin Lovers (1953)). His strongest Hispanic competition in films at the time was Argentine-born fellow MGM player Fernando Lamas, who wound up eventually marrying Esther Williams after divorcing another MGM beauty, Arlene Dahl.
Although Montalban was the epitome of the "Latin lover" type, it actually damaged his cinematic career, pigeonholing him and hurting his momentum. He was seldom able to extricate himself from the usual portrayals of bandidos and gigolos, although he did manage to find an interesting film from time to time, such as his turn as a Mexican undercover policeman in the gritty Border Incident (1949), Mystery Street (1950), the classic war film Battleground (1949) and the hard-edged boxing drama Right Cross (1950). Occasionally, he was handed ethnic roles outside the Latino realm, such as his villainous Blackfoot Indian chief in Across the Wide Missouri (1951) starring Clark Gable, his heroic, bare-chested rebel warrior in the steamy Italian sword-and-sandals costumer The Queen of Babylon (1954) alongside Rhonda Fleming and his Japanese Kabuki actor in the Oscar-winning feature Sayonara (1957). It was during the filming of Across the Wide Missouri (1951) that he suffered a serious injury to his spine after he slipped and fell off a running horse, which resulted in a permanent limp.
Well established by this time, Montalban returned to the stage in 1954 with varied roles in such fare as "Can-Can", "The Inspector General", "South Pacific" and "Accent on Youth", before making his Broadway debut as Chico in the original musical "Seventh Heaven" (1955) with Gloria DeHaven, Kurt Kasznar and Bea Arthur. He then earned a Tony Award nomination as the only non-African-American actor in the tropical-themed musical "Jamaica" (1957) co-starring Lena Horne. He also toured as the title role in "Don Juan in Hell" in the 1960s, returning to Broadway with it in 1973 with Agnes Moorehead, Paul Henreid and Edward Mulhare, and touring once again with the show in 1991.
His strong work ethic and reservoir of talent enabled him to continue on television long after his exotic beefcake status in films had waned. He had married Loretta Young's half-sister Georgiana Young in 1944, and appeared on his sister-in-law's television series (The New Loretta Young Show (1962)) several times. He also showed up in a number of television dramatic anthologies (Playhouse 90 (1956) and Colgate Theatre (1958)) and made guest appearances on the popular series of the day, such as Death Valley Days (1952), Bonanza (1959), Burke's Law (1963), Dr. Kildare (1961), The Defenders (1961) and, more notably, a first-season episode of Star Trek (1966) in which he memorably portrayed galaxy arch-villain Khan Noonien Singh. He resurrected this character memorably in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982).
Over the years, he continued to appear occasionally on the big screen, typically playing continental smoothies, in such films as Love Is a Ball (1963), Madame X (1966) and Sweet Charity (1969), but it was television that finally made him a household name. Montalban captivated audiences as the urbane, white-suited concierge of mystery Mr. Roarke in the Aaron Spelling series Fantasy Island (1977). He stayed with the series for six seasons, buoyed by his popular "odd couple" teaming with the late Hervé Villechaize, who played Mr. Roarke's diminutive sidekick, and fellow greeter, Tattoo. While it may have seemed a somewhat lightweight and undemanding role for the talented Montalban, it nevertheless became his signature character. The series faltered after Villechaize, who had become erratic and difficult on the set, was fired from the series in 1983. Corpulent Britisher Christopher Hewett, as Lawrence, replaced the Tattoo character but to little avail and the series was canceled one season later. The troubled Villechaize committed suicide on September 4, 1993.
An Emmy Award winner for his role in the miniseries How the West Was Won (1976) and a noteworthy villain in the Dynasty (1981) spin-off series The Colbys (1985), Montalban was also famous for a series of television commercials in which he returned somewhat to his "Latin lover" persona, primarily in a series of slick commercials for Chrysler's Cordoba automobile, pitching the elegant auto with its "rich, Corinthian leather" (it later came to light that this phrase had been conjured up as a marketing tool, and that there was no such product from Corinth or anywhere else!). As for film and television work in his later years, he good-naturedly spoofed his Hollywood image in a number of featured roles, including a hilarious send-up of himself in The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988). Two of his final, larger-scaled film roles were as the grandfather in the two "Spy Kids" sequels: Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002) and Spy Kids 3: Game Over (2003). His deep, soothing, confident tones could also be heard in animated features and television series.
Frustrated at Hollywood's portrayal of Mexicans, he helped to found, and gave great support, attention and distinction to, the image-building "Nosotros" organization, a Los Angeles theatre-based company designed for Latinos working in the industry. Nosotros and the Montalban foundation eventually bought the historic Doolittle Theater in Hollywood and renamed the theatre in his honor in 2004. It became the first major theater facility (1200 seats) in the United States to carry the name of a Latino performing artist. In 1980, along with Bob Thomas, he published his memoir, entitled "Reflections: A Life in Two Worlds".
A class act who was beloved in the industry for his gentle and caring nature, the long-term effects of his spinal injury eventually confined him to a wheelchair in his later years. He died in his Los Angeles home of complications from old age on January 14, 2009 at age 88. His wife having died on November 29, 2007, he was survived by their two daughters and two sons: Laura, Anita, Victor and Mark.- Actor
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Richard Arnold is known for Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie (2016), Hustle (2004) and Neighbours (1985).- Music Department
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Richard Ashton was born on 2 October 1965 in Manchester, England, UK. He is an actor, known for The Fifth Element (1997), Hellraiser (2022) and The New Adventures of Robin Hood (1997).