Richard Carlson (actor)
Richard Carlson | |
---|---|
Encino, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
Resting place | Los Angeles National Cemetery |
Alma mater | University of Minnesota |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1935–1975 |
Spouse |
Mona Carlson
(m. 1939) |
Children | 2 |
Richard Dutoit Carlson (April 29, 1912 – November 25, 1977) was an American actor, television and film director, and screenwriter.
Early life
Carlson was the son of a
Career
In 1935, Carlson made his acting debut on Broadway in the play Three Men on a Horse. A talent scout for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer spotted him, and he was signed to a movie contract. He appeared in only one film, Desert Death (1935), a "Crime Does Not Pay" short subject in which Carlson, uncredited, appeared as the film's announcer, "the MGM crime reporter". After this assignment, Carlson walked away from his movie contract. MGM required its younger players to take an extensive, time-consuming training course, described by Carlson's fellow MGM rookie
He was featured in Brock Pemberton's play Now You've Done It (1937) and appeared with Ethel Barrymore in Ghost of Yankee Doodle (1937–38). In 1938 he wrote and staged the play Western Waters starring Van Heflin, which played for only seven performances. He then rejoined Ethel Barrymore for Whiteoaks (1938).[6]
Return to motion pictures
Carlson was signed by David O. Selznick for The Young in Heart (1938), Carlson's first feature film. He had a supporting role in The Duke of West Point (1938) then was second billed to Ann Sheridan in Winter Carnival (1939).[7] He returned to Broadway for Stars In Your Eyes (1939). Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast him in two movies with Lana Turner (These Glamour Girls and Dancing Co-Ed, both released in 1939).[8]
Carlson was the main male actor for such movies as
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Carlson played in several movies for MGM in the early 1940s, including
During World War II, Carlson served in the United States Navy, as a lieutenant, junior grade.[9]
Post-war
When he returned to Hollywood, he had few offers of employment, and began writing to supplement his income.[10] He gained supporting roles in the movies So Well Remembered (1947) and The Amazing Mr. X (1948) and the lead in Behind Locked Doors (1948). In 1950, he co-featured with Deborah Kerr and Stewart Granger in the very successful adventure movie King Solomon's Mines, filmed on location in the Kenya Colony and the Belgian Congo. While filming in Africa, Carlson wrote a series of articles for The Saturday Evening Post, collectively titled "Diary of a Hollywood Safari."[11]
Despite the movie's success, Carlson remained a supporting actor:
On July 14, 1951, Carlson and then
Carlson began to appear regularly on television shows such as
Science fiction
Carlson played the lead in The Magnetic Monster (1953) which caused him to become popular in the newly re-emergent genres of science fiction and horror.[13]
He followed it with leads in The Maze (1953), It Came from Outer Space (1953) with Barbara Rush, and Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) with Julie Adams. He also had the male lead for All I Desire (1953). He also featured in the 1954 movie Riders to the Stars.
He starred in the educational science film The Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays, directed by Frank Capra for the acclaimed Bell Telephone Series in 1957.
Carlson remained active in television, appearing in
Director
Carlson's success in the genre resulted in him acting in and directing the 1954 science-fiction movie Riders to the Stars. He then directed Four Guns to the Border (1954). His third feature as director was Appointment with a Shadow (1957), followed by The Saga of Hemp Brown (1958). He wrote the script for Johnny Rocco (1958).[14]
Throughout the 1950s Richard Carlson pursued both acting in and directing motion pictures:
In 1957 he was cast as two different clergymen, Rabbi Avraham Soltes and Father William Wendt, in the episodes "The Happy Gift" and "Call For Help", respectively, of the syndicated religious anthology series, Crossroads.
Mackenzie's Raiders
In 1959, Carlson was cast as Paul Drake in "The Faithless" of the
Carlson began directing for television:
His early 1960s credits as actor included
In 1965, he played a mad scientist who creates a mutant, killer octopus in the Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea episode "The Village of Guilt".
He played in the movies Della (1965) and Kid Rodelo (1965), directing the latter. He acted in the series The Virginian, Bonanza and Rawhide.
In the final two seasons of
Later work
Carlson played in the movies The Doomsday Flight (1966), The Power (1968), and The Valley of Gwangi (1968). Carlson's last movie role was in the 1969 Elvis Presley/Mary Tyler Moore movie, Change of Habit.
Carlson played in episodes of .
Personal life
Carlson married Mona Carlson in 1939.
He died of a
Legacy
Carlson is often mistaken for actor
For his contribution to the television industry, Carlson has a star figure on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6333 Hollywood Blvd.
Filmography
Film | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
1935 | Desert Death | MGM Crime Reporter | (short subject, uncredited) |
1938 | The Young in Heart | Duncan Macrae | |
The Duke of West Point | Jack West | ||
1939 | Winter Carnival | Professor John Welden | |
These Glamour Girls | Joe | ||
Dancing Co-Ed | Michael "Pug" Braddock | ||
Little Accident | Perry Allerton | ||
1940 | Beyond Tomorrow | James Houston | |
The Ghost Breakers | Geoff Montgomery | ||
The Howards of Virginia | Thomas Jefferson | ||
Too Many Girls | Clint Kelly | ||
No, No, Nanette | Tom Gillespie | ||
1941 | Back Street | Curt Stanton | |
West Point Widow | Dr. Jimmy Krueger | ||
Hold That Ghost | Dr. Duncan "Doc" Jackson | Working title: Oh Charlie | |
The Little Foxes | David Hewitt | ||
1942 | Fly-by-Night | Dr. Geoffrey Burton | |
The Affairs of Martha | Jeff Sommerfield | ||
Highways by Night | Tommy Van Steel | ||
My Heart Belongs to Daddy | Prof. Richard Inglethorpe Culbertson Kay | ||
White Cargo | Mr. Langford | ||
1943 | Presenting Lily Mars | Owen Vail | |
A Stranger in Town | Bill Adams | ||
Young Ideas | Tom Farrell | ||
The Man from Down Under | "Nipper" Wilson | ||
1947 | So Well Remembered | Charles Winslow | |
1948 | The Amazing Mr. X | Martin Abbott | |
Behind Locked Doors | Ross Stewart | ||
1950 | King Solomon's Mines | John Goode | |
The Sound of Fury | Gil Stanton | Alternative title: Try and Get Me | |
1951 | Valentino | Bill King | |
A Millionaire for Christy | Dr. Roland Cook | ||
The Blue Veil | Gerald Kean | ||
1952 | Whispering Smith Hits London | Whispering Smith | |
Retreat, Hell! | Captain Paul Hansen | ||
The Rose Bowl Story | Narrator | Voice, Uncredited | |
Flat Top | Lt. Rodgers | ||
1953 | The Magnetic Monster | Dr. Jeffrey Stewart | |
Seminole | Major Harlan Degan | ||
It Came from Outer Space | John Putnam | ||
The Maze | Gerald MacTeam | ||
All I Desire | Henry Murdoch | ||
The Golden Blade | Narrator | Voice, Uncredited | |
1954 | Riders to the Stars | Dr. Jerome "Jerry" Lockwood | Also directed |
Creature from the Black Lagoon | Dr. David Reed | ||
1955 | An Annapolis Story | Narrator | Voice, Uncredited |
The Last Command | William B. Travis | Alternative title: San Antonio de Bexar | |
Bengazi | Insp. Levering | ||
1956 | Three for Jamie Dawn | Martin Random | |
1957 | The Helen Morgan Story | Russell Wade | |
1960 | Tormented | Tom Stewart | |
1964 | Della | David Stafford | |
1966 | Kid Rodelo | Link | Also director |
The Doomsday Flight | Chief Pilot Bob Shea | TV movie written by Rod Serling | |
1968 | The Power | Professor Norman E. Van Zandt | |
1969 | The Valley of Gwangi | Champ | |
Change of Habit | Bishop Finley | ||
Television | |||
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
1953–1956 | I Led Three Lives
|
Herbert Philbrick | |
1954 | General Electric Theater | Archie Hawkins | 1 episode |
The Best of Broadway | Mike Connor | 1 episode | |
1959 | Riverboat | Paul Drake | 1 episode |
The Man and the Challenge | -
|
Director, 1 episode | |
Men into Space | -
|
Director, 1 episode | |
1960 | The Aquanauts
|
Ross Porter | 1 episode |
1961–1962 | The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor
|
-
|
Director, 5 episodes |
1962 | Bus Stop | George Whaley | 1 episode |
Thriller
|
Guy Guthrie | 1 episode | |
Going My Way | Francis Delaney | 1 episode | |
1964 | Arrest and Trial | Turner Leigh | 1 episode |
The Fugitive | Allan Pruitt | 1 episode | |
The Virginian | Sheriff Marden | Episode "Smile of a Dragon" | |
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea' | Lars Mattson | 1 episode | |
1964, 1966 | Perry Mason | Anthony Fry, Clete Hawley | 2 episodes |
1965 | The Virginian | Major Ralph Forrester | Episode "Farewell to Honesty" |
1968 | Bonanza | Arch Hollinbeck | 1 episode |
1969 | It Takes a Thief | Daniel K. Ryder | 1 episode |
The F.B.I. | Harold David Dewitt | 1 episode | |
Lancer | Judah Abbott | 1 episode | |
1971–1973 | O'Hara, U.S. Treasury | -
|
Writer, 3 episodes |
1972–1973 | Cannon | Owen McMahon; Mr. Archibald | 2 episodes |
1973 | Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
|
Al Downes | 1 episode |
1975 | Khan!
|
1 episode |
References
- ^ Tom Weaver, David Schecter, and Steve Kronenberg, The Creature Chronicles: Exploring the Black Lagoon Trilogy, McFarland, 2014. ISBN 9781476615806.
- ^ New York Times, "Richard Carlson, Actor, Dies at 65; Star of 'I Led Three Lives' on TV", November 27, 1977.
- ^ Washington Post, "Richard Carlson Dies, Actor In TV Series, Films, Writer", November 27, 1977.
- ^ Richard Carlson studio biography, in Who's Who at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 20th Anniversary issue, 1944, p. 140.
- ^ Pinky Tomlin, The Object of My Affection, University of Oklahoma Press, 1981, p. 94.
- ^ Carlson studio biography.
- ^ Edwin Schallert, Los Angeles Times, "Political Subject Next on Capra Slate: 'Career Man' Planned, Sheehan May Sign Janet Woods Back in Films, 'West Point' Cast Set", Sept. 22, 1938, p. 19.
- ^ Carlson studio biography.
- ^ Carlson studio biography.
- ^ Weaver, Schecter, Kronenberg.
- ^ New York Times obituary.
- ^ Faye Emerson's Wonderful Town, Classic Television Archives, 2012.
- ^ Weaver, Schecter, Kronenberg.
- ^ Thomas M. Pryor, New York Times, "Leo M'carey, Fox in 3-Picture Deal: Director-Producer's First Is 'Marco Polo'--Paramount Signs Miss Bel Geddes, Widmark Will Be Outlaw", Sept, 21, 1957, p. 23.
- Internet Movie Database, Riverboat November 22, 1959.
- ^ Everett Grant, Final Curtain: Deaths of Noted Movie and TV Personalities, 1912–1996, Eighth Edition, Carol Publishing Group, 1996, p. 65.
External links
- Richard Carlson at the Internet Broadway Database
- Richard Carlson at IMDb
- Richard Carlson at Find a Grave