Richard Ross Eyer (born May 6, 1945) is an American former child actor who worked during the 1950s and 1960s. He then became a teacher and taught at elementary schools in Bishop, California until he retired in 2006. He is the older brother of Robert Eyer (1948–2005), another child actor of the period.
Career In The Desperate Hours (1955), Eyer played Fredric March's dangerously impulsive son.
In 1956, he played a boy named Chuck in Canyon River which starred George Montgomery and Peter Graves.
Eyer played a war orphan in "Homeward Borne", an episode of Playhouse 90, August 22, 1957, on CBS. He had the starring role in The Invisible Boy (1957), producer Nicholas Nayfack's independent sequel to MGM's Forbidden Planet.
He also starred in the 1958 western Fort Dobbs, with Clint Walker and Virginia Mayo and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad in 1958, in which he portrayed the metallic-voiced Barani the Genie.
He appeared in more than one hundred episodes of various television programs, including Rod Cameron's syndicated City Detective, when he was eight years of age. Other appearances include Arrest and Trial, Stoney Burke, Mr. Novak, Wagon Train, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Father Knows Best, Gunsmoke, Lassie, Rawhide and General Electric Theater.
In a 1995 interview, Eyer credited his mother for the promotion of his acting career. "It was all her work that did it. I had curly hair, freckles, and people would say what a cute kid he was and all that; so my mother entered me in some children's personality contests, and I won one of these which had been held at the Hollywood Bowl, and I guess that one was the springboard in getting me started. After that, I was hired for some television commercials and some modeling jobs, and this led into other things ... I was around fourteen when I did Stagecoach West ... My last role was at age 21, appearing in an episode of [ABC's] Combat!"
Personal life Eyer is divorced. He is the father of Samantha Rae Eyer, and twin sons, Benjamin Adam Eyer and Andrew Z. Eyer.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes1952 Invasion U.S.A. Mulfory's Son Uncredited1953 It Happens Every Thursday Stan Uncredited1954 Ma and Pa Kettle at Home Billy Kettle 1954 The Raid Larry's Friend Uncredited1955 The Desperate Hours Ralphie Hilliard 1955 Sincerely Yours Alvie Hunt 1956 Come Next Spring Abraham 1956 The Kettles in the Ozarks Billy Kettle 1956 Canyon River Chuck Hale 1956 Friendly Persuasion Little Jess Birdwell 1957 Slander Joey Martin 1957 Bailout at 43,000 Kit Peterson 1957 The Invisible Boy Timmie Merrinoe 1958 Fort Dobbs Chad Gray 1958 The 7th Voyage of Sinbad The Genie 1958 Johnny Rocco Johnny Rocco 1958 Father Knows Best Burgess Vale 1959 Wanted Dead or Alive Montana Kid Season 2 ep 11960 Hell to Eternity Guy - as a Boy 1959 Gunsmoke Tommy - befriends ex outlaw 1960 Wagon Train Matthew Brant 1960-61 Stagecoach West David Kane 38 Episodes
References
Bibliography
Holmstrom, John (1996). The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995. Norwich: Michael Russell, p. 253.
External links