Rich Vogler (1950 - 1990)

Vogler was the National Alliance of Midget Auto Racing (NAMAR) midget champion in 1973. He won the midget car track championships at the Indianapolis Speedrome in 1984 and 1985. He won the Fireman Nationals midget car race at Angell Park Speedway in 1985. Vogler became the first driver to win the USAC Sprint Car and […]

Richard “Dick” Cusack (1925 - 2003)

Actor, Screenwriter, Filmmaker. He began his career in advertising before entering the film business. He was the father of sctors Susie Cusack, John Cusack, Joan Cusack, Bill Cusack, and Ann Cusack, often appearing together with there father in films. In 1970 he left the world of advertising and made the abortion documentary film, “The Committee” […]

Richard “Pepe” Benedict (1920 - 1984)

Actor, Director. Italian-born motion picture and television figure of the 1940s to the 1960s. Appeared with Frank Sinatra and the rest of the ‘Rat Pack’ in the 1960 feature “Ocean’s Eleven.” Father of actor Nick Benedict. (bio by: A.J. Marik) Cause of death: Heart attack

Richard “Skeets” Gallagher (1891 - 1955)

Actor. He was nicknamed “Skeets” (short for “mosquito”) as a child, due to his habit of darting around. Gallagher began his career in vaudeville and on Broadway before starting a screen career in Hollywood.  He appeared in 62 films, usually in supporting roles, bewteen 1915 and 1952, including “Possessed” (1931) with Joan Crawford and Clark […]

Richard Abbott (1899 - 1986)

Richard Abbott Actor. He was in the original casts of the plays “The Power of Darkness”, “Polly”, and “The Last Mile”. He had many uncredited film roles from the 1930s to 1970s, such as “Love Laughs at Andy Hardy”(1947) and “Green Dolphin Street”(1947) His last role was as ‘Billings’ in “The Last Escape” (1970).

Richard Achilles Ballinger (1858 - 1922)

Presidential Cabinet Secretary. Served as Mayor of Seattle, Washington from 1904 to 1906. Served as Secretary of the Interior in President William H. Taft’s administration from 1909 to 1911. In 1909 he was President of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition World’s Fair. Named Lake Ballinger in honor of his father, Col. Richard H. Ballinger.  Family links:  Parents: […]

Richard Alexander (1902 - 1989)

Actor. He appeared in motion pictures such as “All Quiet in the Western Front” (1930), “The Front Page” (1931), “The Sign of the Cross” (1932), “Cleopatra” (1934), “Modern Times” (1936), “Where the West Begins” (1938), “Raiders of Death Valley” (1941), “Three Little Sisters” (1944) and “Two Guys From Texas” (1948). He also played ‘Prince Barin’ […]

Richard Alexander (1902 - 1989)

Actor. He appeared in motion pictures such as “All Quiet in the Western Front” (1930), “The Front Page” (1931), “The Sign of the Cross” (1932), “Cleopatra” (1934), “Modern Times” (1936), “Where the West Begins” (1938), “Raiders of Death Valley” (1941), “Three Little Sisters” (1944) and “Two Guys From Texas” (1948). He also played ‘Prince Barin’ […]

Richard Angas (1942 - 2013)

The Angas family were keen amateur musicians, and Richard, who was born in Esher in Greater London, became a chorister at the Royal School of Church Music as well as joining a local choral group. From 1960 until 1964 he studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and in 1965 won both the […]

Richard Arkwright (1732 - 1792)

Richard Arkwright, the youngest of 13 children, was born in Preston, Lancashire, England on 23 December 1732. His father, Thomas, was a tailor and a Preston Guild burgess. The family is recorded in the Preston Guild Rolls now held by Lancashire Record Office. Richard’s parents, Sarah and Thomas, could not afford to send him to […]

Richard Arlen (1898 - 1976)

Actor.  Born Cornelius Richard Van Mattimore, in Charlottesville, Virginia, he served as a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War I. While working as a motorcycle messenger for a film laboratory, he was injured in an accident at Paramount Studios in the early 1920s.  When he later went to the studio to […]

Richard Attenborough (1923 - 2014)

Attenborough was born on 29 August 1923 in Cambridge, the eldest of three sons of Mary Attenborough (née Clegg), a founding member of the Marriage Guidance Council, and Frederick Levi Attenborough, a scholar and academic administrator who was a fellow at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and wrote a standard text on Anglo-Saxon law. Attenborough was educated […]

Richard Baer (1928 - 2008)

Television Screenwriter. Born in New York City, he contributed to some of the most popular programs from the 1950s into the 1980s, and earned an Emmy Award-nomination for series “Hennesey”. Baer began his career writing for series “The Life of Riley” and had script credits with, “Leave It to Beaver”, “Have Gun- Will Travel”, “The […]

Richard Bakalyan (1931 - 2015)

Actor. He was typecast playing juvenile delinquents during the first half of his career and later made a name for himself in several Disney pictures. Born in New England, to a Canadian mother and an Armenian father, Richard served with the United States Air Force during the Korean War. He broke into the movie industry […]

Richard Ballinger (1858 - 1922)

After serving as the mayor of Seattle, Richard Ballinger joined the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt and served as commissioner of the General Land Office from 1907 until 1908. In 1909, Ballinger helped organize the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, a World’s Fair to highlight development in the Northwest. In 1909 despite previous promises to retain ex-President Roosevelt’s cabinet […]

Richard Basehart (1914 - 1984)

Richard Basehart Mr. Basehart, who starred as Admiral Nelson in the television series ”Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,” narrated the closing ceremonies of the Olympics on Aug. 12 and suffered the first of several strokes hours afterward, his lawyer, Bruce Stiglitz, said yesterday. He died in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where […]

Richard Bebb (1927 - 2006)

British Actor.  A prolific performer in British theater, television, and radio, his career spanned five decades.  He is probably best remembered for his many roles in the “BBC Sunday-Night Theatre” television series that aired from 1950 to 1952, as well as the ‘Second Voice’ in the original 1954 BBC Radio broadcast of Dylan Thomas’s “Under […]

Richard Beckinsale (1947 - 1979)

British actor, most noted for his comic roles. RADA trained, Beckinsale appeared in classic comedies such as “Rising Damp,” “Porridge,” and “Lovers.” He died of a heart attack in the middle of making the film “Bloomers.” His two daughters Kate (Pearl Harbour) and Samantha both followed their father into the acting profession. (bio by: Kieran […]

Richard Ben Cramer (1950 - 2013)

Cramer was born and raised in Rochester, New York. He graduated from Brighton High School in 1967. He wrote for Trapezoid, the school’s student newspaper, after he was cut from the baseball team. He earned a bachelor’s degree in the Liberal Arts in 1971 from Johns Hopkins University where he was also a writer and […]

Richard Bennett (1870 - 1944)

Vaudeville, stage, and screen actor of the 1910s, 20s, 30s, and 40s. One of his finest roles was his portrayal of Major Amberson in Orson Welles’ “The Magnificent Ambersons” (1942). Married to actress Adrienne Morrison. Father of actresses Barbara, Constance, and Joan Bennett. (bio by: A.J. Marik)  Family links:  Spouse:  Mabel Adrienne Morrison Bennett (1883 […]

Richard Berry Harrison (1864 - 1935)

Actor. The son of fugitive slaves who had escaped to Canada on the Underground Railroad, he was named “Richard” after his mother had seen a performance of ‘Richard III’. His interest in theatre led him to Detroit, where he studied acting at the Detroit Training School of Dramatic Art. He traveled frequently, giving dramatic readings […]

Richard Biegenwald (1940 - 2008)

Richard Biegenwald stole another car and went to Bayonne, New Jersey. There, on December 18, 1958, Biegenwald robbed a grocery store with accomplice Frank Spardoff (possibly “Sparnroft”), shooting and killing the proprietor, Stephen Sladowski, an attorney & prosecutor. Biegenwald fled the state after the murder, but was captured two days later in Salisbury, Maryland, after […]

Richard Bissell (1913 - 1977)

American novelist and playwright. He wrote the novel, “7 And A Half Cents” (1953). In 1954 his novel was turned into a Broadway musical play and film in called, “The Pajama Game.”  Family links:  Parents:  Frederick Ezekiel Bissell (1878 – 1958)  Edith Mary Pike Bissell (1879 – 1976)  Spouse:  Marian Van Patten Grilk Bissell (1918 […]

Richard Blackwell (1922 - 2008)

Blackwell was born Richard Sylvan Selzer in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn to Henry Selzer, a working-class printer, and Eva Selzer, were the American-born children of Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire. He had one older brother. He claimed he was severely beaten by a stepfather, often sleeping in the alley beneath a fire escape […]

Richard Blass (1945 - 1975)

Born in the Montreal neighbourhood of Rosemont, Richard Blass would turn to amateur boxing as a way to channel his anger when he was a child. It was after a boxing fight that Blass committed one of his first known crimes, attacking fellow boxer Michel Gouin with a knife after losing a fight to him. […]

Richard Bong (1920 - 1945)

Richard Bong’s ability as a fighter pilot was recognized at training in northern California. He was commissioned a second lieutenant and awarded his pilot wings on January 19, 1942. His first assignment was as an instructor (gunnery) pilot at Luke Field, Arizona from January to May 1942. His first operational assignment was on May 6 […]

Richard Boone (1917 - 1981)

Richard Boone  Richard Boone, the actor best known for his role as the hired gun Paladin in the ”Have Gun Will Travel” television series, is dead at the age of 63. A spokesman at Craig Funeral Home in St. Augustine said today that Mr. Boone’s body was to be cremated and a private service held. […]

Richard Bradford (1937 - 2016)

Actor. Born Richard Edwin Bradford, he was a versatile actor who was best known for his role of the CIA agent turned private eye McGill in the 1960s British series “Man in a Suitcase”. After a short stint in both football and baseball, he decided to go to New York to pursue a career in […]

Richard Brautigan (1935 - 1984)

In San Francisco, Richard Brautigan sought to establish himself as a writer. He was known for handing out his poetry on the streets and performing at poetry clubs. In early 1956, Brautigan typed a three-page manuscript and sent it to The Macmillan Company for publication. The manuscript consisted of two pages with 14 poems and […]

Richard Bright (1937 - 2006)

Bright was born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York, the son of Matilda (née Scott) and Ernest Bright, who was a shipbuilder. Bright began his career doing live television in Manhattan, at the age of 18, and made his film debut in Robert Wise’s Odds Against Tomorrow (1959). He also worked on several movies early in […]