Frank Richards (September 15, 1909 – April 15, 1992) was an American character actor, typically portraying a hoodlum or thug with a menacing appearance.
Biography Richards was born in New York City and raised in Fall River, Massachusetts.
Richards began acting in stock theater in Cape Cod while he worked 16 hours a day as a driver of a fruit truck. He continued his stock acting for eight years. He acted on Broadway in The Wanhope Building (1947), Embezzled Heaven (1944), The World We Make (1939), and Brown Danube (1939).
After serving in the military during World War II, Richards studied dialects, diction, and speech in New York, in addition to working in radio and television.
He appeared in 150 films and televisions shows from 1940 into the mid 1980s. He appeared in three episodes of Adventures of Superman, including 1952's "Night of Terror", in which he accidentally knocked out Phyllis Coates during a fight scene.Superman: Serial to Cereal, by Gary Grossman, 1976, pp.73 and 78 He also appeared in a 1953 episode of The Lone Ranger. His first stage appearance was in 1938 and his last film was John Cassavetes' A Woman Under the Influence in 1974.
Death On April 15, 1992, Richards died in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is interred at Palm Memorial Park in Las Vegas.Wilson, Scott. Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 25047-25048). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Selected filmography
Before I Hang (1940) - Otto Kron, Convict Arizona (1940) - Dugan (uncredited) Tall, Dark and Handsome (1941) - Mobster (uncredited) Sky Raiders (1941, Serial) - Murdock, Henchman [Ch. 8] (uncredited) Hold That Ghost (1941) - Gunman (uncredited) Public Enemies (1941) - Shelby The Corsican Brothers (1941) - Colonna's Henchman (uncredited) Reap the Wild Wind (1942) - Cutler Man in Barrel Room (uncredited) Alias Boston Blackie (1942) - Mack, Prisoner Next to Joe (uncredited) Sunday Punch (1942) - Bystander (uncredited) Cairo (1942) - Alfred A Man's World (1942) - Thomas (uncredited) You Can't Escape Forever (1942) - Scotty, Greer's Henchman (uncredited) Redhead from Manhattan (1943) - Fisherman (uncredited) The House on 92nd Street (1945) - German Spy Trainee (uncredited) A Double Life (1947) - Stagehand (uncredited) The Story of Mr. Hobbs (1947) - Spike Appointment with Murder (1948) - 2nd Thug (uncredited) I Cheated the Law (1949) - Bartender (uncredited) The Set-Up (1949) - Bat, Program Vendor (uncredited) The Crooked Way (1949) - Nick, Bailbondsman (uncredited) Canadian Pacific (1949) - Railroad Worker (uncredited) Come to the Stable (1949) - Lefty, Rossi's Goon (uncredited) Slattery's Hurricane (1949) - Bartender (uncredited) The Cowboy and the Indians (1949) - Smiley Martin Thieves' Highway (1949) - Cab Driver (uncredited) Prison Warden (1949) - Cory (uncredited) Tough Assignment (1949) - Steve The Threat (1949) - Lefty The Outriders (1950) - Outrider with Knife (uncredited) Black Hand (1950) - Semi-Moron (uncredited) Western Pacific Agent (1950) - Keystone Father of the Bride (1950) - Truck Driver (uncredited) Love That Brute (1950) - Gangster (uncredited) No Way Out (1950) - Mac (uncredited) Wyoming Mail (1950) - Prison Contact (uncredited) Kim (1950) - Abul (uncredited) California Passage (1950) - Sneed (uncredited) The Scarf (1951) - Gargantua (uncredited) Double Crossbones (1951) - Tavern Bouncer (uncredited) Across the Wide Missouri (1951) - Tige Shannon (uncredited) South of Caliente (1951) - Studsy Denning Love Is Better Than Ever (1952) - Mr. Carney, Wardrobe Man (uncredited) Carbine Williams (1952) - Truex Pat and Mike (1952) - Sam Garsell The Savage (1952) - Sergeant Norris Stop, You're Killing Me (1952) - Black Hat Gallagher (uncredited) Girls in the Night (1953) - Bartender Danny (uncredited) The System (1953) - Charley, Merrick's Butler The Caddy (1953) - Burly Caddie (uncredited) I, the Jury (1953) - Killer Thompson (uncredited) Clipped Wings (1953) - Cralia Dupree (uncredited) Prisoners of the Casbah (1953) - 2nd Thief Money from Home (1953) - Angry Truck Driver (uncredited) Tennessee Champ (1954) - J.B. Backett Return from the Sea (1954) - Bartender Destry (1954) - Dummy The Atomic Kid (1954) - Casino Officer (uncredited) Pirates of Tripoli (1955) - Zurtah (uncredited) New York Confidential (1955) - Hoodlum (uncredited) A Bullet for Joey (1955) - Ship Officer (uncredited) Spy Chasers (1955) - George Guys and Dolls (1955) - Man with Packages (uncredited) The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) - Blind Barfly (uncredited) The Killing (1956) - Track Employee in Locker Room (uncredited) Man from Del Rio (1956) - Ken, the Stableman (uncredited) Running Target (1956) - Castagna The Desperados Are in Town (1956) - Mr. Tawson (uncredited) The Storm Rider (1957) - Will Feylan The Persuader (1957) - Steve Gun Battle at Monterey (1957) - Gus (uncredited) The Hard Man (1957) - Vince Kane (uncredited) Escape from Red Rock (1957) - Price The World Was His Jury (1958) - Able-Bodied Seaman Milo Radvitch aka Mikel Petrov (uncredited) Teacher's Pet (1958) - Cab Driver (uncredited) How to Make a Monster (1958) - Studio Groundskeeper (uncredited) The Cry Baby Killer (1958) - Pete Gambelli The Black Orchid (1958) - Hood (uncredited) Revolt in the Big House (1958) - Jake Lonelyhearts (1958) - Taxi Driver Arson for Hire (1959) - Man Making Phone Calls The Hangman (1959) - Zimmerman (uncredited) The Gunfight at Dodge City (1959) - Burly Man with Saloon Girl (uncredited) Bells Are Ringing (1960) - Barney Lampwick's Friend - Man on Street (uncredited) From the Terrace (1960) - The Bartender (uncredited) The Hook (1963) - Crewman Kaskevitch The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) - (uncredited) A Woman Under the Influence (1974) - Adolph
Selected Television YearTitleRole Notes 1953 Death Valley Days Bartender Purdy Season 1, Episode, "Land of the Free" 1953 The Lone Ranger Bill Adams Episode "The Devil's Bog" 1953 The Lone Ranger Jeb Logan Episode "Son by Adoption" 1953 The Lone Ranger Duke Episode "Gunpowder Joe" 1954 The Lone Ranger Matt Episode "Texas Draw" 1954 The Abbott and Costello Show Slug Episode "Private Eye" 1954 Death Valley Days Townsman Season 2, Episode 13, "Snowshoe Thompson" 1956 Death Valley Days Townsman Episode "Paydirt" 1958 Death Valley Days Sitting Bull Episode, "The Greatest Scout of All" 1958 Death Valley Days Town Marshall Episode "The Gunsmith" 1959 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Monk McGinnis Season 4 Episode 26: "Cheap is Cheap" 1960 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Party Guest Season 6 Episode 12: "The Baby-Blue Expression" 1960 Death Valley Days Red Hacker Episode "The Deserter" 1960 Wanted Dead or Alive Jake Episode "Miracle at Pot Hole"
References
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