Richard Devon (born Richard Gibson Ferraiole; December 11, 1926 – February 26, 2010) was an American character actor and voice actor who between the late 1940s and 1991 performed in hundreds of roles on stage, radio, television, and in feature films.

Early life Devon was born in Glendale, California in 1926, the only son of four children of Florence H. (née Glass) and Luca Ferraiole."California Birth Index, 1905-1995", Richard Gibson Ferraiole, December 11, 1926, Los Angeles, California. Vital Statistics, Department of Health Services, Sacramento."The Fifteenth Census of the United States Census: 1930", digital image of original enumeration page, Los Angeles, California, April 16, 1930. Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C. FamilySearch digital records. His father, a native of Italy, immigrated to the United States in 1901 and lived in Pennsylvania before moving to California, where by 1930 he was employed as a waiter in a Los Angeles cafe.

To supplement his family's modest income, Devon later worked part-time as a stable boy and then as a riding instructor at an equestrian academy in Griffith Park.Magers, Boyd. "Characters and Heavies: Richard Devon", Western Clippings, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Retrieved April 5, 2019. That early experience with horses proved useful in his acting career, especially in Western films and television series. Following his graduation from high school, Devon worked as a mail carrier at Monogram Pictures, a laborer at a plant nursery, a mechanic's helper, and as a doorman at the Hollywood Palladium.

Career

In the 1950s Devon began performing as a character actor in many Four Star Television series, although his work was not limited to a single production company or network. He played, for example, the role of Joe Nord, a gangster, in a 1958 episode of Peter Gunn. He appears, for example, as Ed Pike in the 1959 episode "Yellow Fever" of the Western series Colt .45, which was produced by Warner Bros. and originally broadcast by ABC.

Devon's television credits include Richard Diamond, Private Detective (three episodes), Tales of Wells Fargo, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, and Johnny Ringo (in the episode "The Posse"). In 1959 he appeared on Wagon TrainS3 E8 "The Felizia Kingdom Story" as Frenchy.

He guest-starred on seven episodes of The Rifleman from 1959 to 1962: "Blood Brother" as Jethroe, "The Spiked Rifle" as Stark, "The Grasshopper" as Ryerson, "The Silent Knife" as Macowan, "Miss Milly" as Adams, "The Stand-In" as Potter and "The Most Amazing Man" as Lovett.

Devon appeared on Space Patrol, Trackdown starring Robert Culp (three episodes, including the pilot episode of that series, "Badge of Honor," which aired initially on Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre), The Tall Man, Gunsmoke (in the episodes "Ex-Con" and "The Quest for Asa Janin"), Highway Patrol as a hitchhiker, The Rebel, The Virginian (as Haskell in the 1970 episode "You Can Lead a Horse to Water") and its spin-off.

He guest-starred on Bonanza (four episodes from 1960-1967: "The Avenger", "The Trail Gang", "The Scapegoat" and "A Bride for Buford"), Laredo, Daniel Boone, The Monkees, Lassie, The Twilight Zone episode "Dead Man's Shoes" in 1962, three episodes of Perry Mason from 1964–1966, and Mission: Impossible.

Devon had a regular role as well as on the CBS series Yancy Derringer, performing the part of Jody Barker, a pickpocket and sometime cohort of the lead character played by Jock Mahoney.Rich, Michael (2018). "Yancy Derringer", Fifties Web, RichWeb. Retrieved April 14, 2019. He also played the role of Cole Striker, a crook, in the 1963 episode "Incident of the Buryin' Man" on CBS's Rawhide.

He provided the voice of Batman on episodes of the radio version of The Adventures of Superman.

Devon's big screen career consists of at least two dozen feature films. Some of those productions are The Undead, War of the Satellites, The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze, The Comancheros, and the Battle of Blood Island."Richard Devon", filmography, American Film Institute (AFI), Los Angeles, California. Retrieved April 14, 2019.

Personal life and death In December 1959, Devon married Patricia A. Riopelle. They remained together for over 50 years, until Devon died of vascular disease in Mill Valley, California in 2010, aged 83.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes1952 Scorching Fury Kirk Flamer 1955 The Prodigal Risafe 1956 Highway Patrol Mr Gorman, hitchiker E31, "Runaway Boy" 1957 The Undead Satan 1957 The Buckskin Lady townsman uncredited1957 3:10 to Yuma Wade gang member uncredited1957 Escape from San Quentin Roy Gruber 1957 Teenage Doll Det. Dunston 1957 Blood of Dracula Det. Sgt. Stewart 1957 The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent Stark 1958 Machine-Gun Kelly Apple 1958 War of the Satellites Dr. Pol Van Ponder 1958 Badman's Country Harvey Logan 1958 The Badlanders prison guard uncredited1958 Money, Women and Guns Setting Sun 1959 Gunfighters of Abilene Marty Ruger 1959 - 1962 The Rifleman Jethroe, Stark, Ryerson, Macowan, Adams, Potter, Lovett 1960 Battle of Blood Island Moe 1961 The Comancheros Esteban 1962 Kid Galahad Marvin 1963 Cattle King Vince Bodine 1963 The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze Maharajah 1964 Perry Mason Marion Devlin S7, E20 "The Case of the Frightened Fisherman" 1966 The Silencers Domino 1967 The Monkees Victor S1:E22, "Monkees at the Circus"1968 Three Guns for Texas Max 1973 Magnum Force Carmine Ricca 1974 Planet of the Apes Zandar 1988 The Seventh Sign second cardinal

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