Addison Whittaker Richards, Jr. was an American actor of film and television. Richards appeared in more than three hundred films between 1933 and his death.
Biography
A native of Zanesville, Ohio, Richards was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Addison Richards. His grandfather was a mayor of Zanesville. Following his father's death in 1942, the family moved to California. Richards was cast in many television series, including the syndicated 1950s crime drama, Sheriff of Cochise, starring John Bromfield. From 1955 to 1961, he appeared in six episodes in different roles on the NBCanthology series, The Loretta Young Show. In 1956 Richards appeared as Doc Jennings in an uncredited role in the western movie The Fastest Gun Alive starring Glenn Ford. However, he often had more substantial supporting roles in films, especially Westerns, including playing George Armstrong Custer in Badlands of Dakota and the marshal in The Broken Star. From 1957-1958, he appeared in the recurring role of J.B. Barker in nine episodes of Jackie Cooper's NBC sitcom, The People's Choice. In 1958, he was cast as Warden Johnson in the episode "Dead Reckoning" on the ABC/Warner Brothers western series, Colt.45. In 1957, in the first of three appearances on Dale Robertson's NBC western series, Tales of Wells Fargo, Richards played GovernorLew Wallace in the episode entitled, "Billy the Kid", with Robert Vaughn cast as the frontier outlaw Billy the Kid. Richards played the role of Evanson in the 1957 episode "Venus of Park Avenue" on the CBS crime drama, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, starring David Janssen. In 1958 and 1959, Richards was cast as Doc Jay Calhoun in seven episodes, one uncredited, of the CBS western series, Trackdown, starring Robert Culp as Texas Ranger Hoby Gilman, with Ellen Corby in a secondary role as newspaper publisher Henrietta Porter. In 1959, Richards portrayed Mayor Thurston in the episode "Traildust" of CBS's western series, The Texan, starring Rory Calhoun. He was cast that same year as Martin Kingsley in two episodes of the NBC western series, Cimarron City. He appeared as Doc Gamble in three episodes of the radio series made briefly into a 1959 NBC sitcom, Fibber McGee and Molly. From 1960 to 1961, he appeared as Doc Landy in eight episodes of the NBC western series, the Deputy, with Henry Fonda and Allen Case. Richards portrayed Mark Stacy in the 1960 episode "Dennis and the Bees" of the CBS sitcom, Dennis the Menace, starring Jay North. He guest starred as Judge Danby in the 1961 episode "The Best Policy" of another NBC western series, The Tall Man, starring Barry Sullivan and Clu Gulager. Also, in 1961, in the TV series Rawhide, he played Frank Miller in the episode "Incident of the Running Iron". Richards was cast in two episodes of the ABC sitcom, The Real McCoys: as R.T. Overland in "Weekend in Los Angeles" and as Colonel Martin in "You Can't Beat the Army". In 1961, he appeared in different roles in two episodes of the CBS crime drama, Checkmate. He was cast as an immigration officer in the 1962 episode "Mi's Citizenship" of the NBC family drama, National Velvet. Richards appeared on the CBS sitcoms, Pete and Gladys and in 1963 as Dean Hollister in The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, starring Dwayne Hickman. He was cast as Frank Newton on an episode of Petticoat Junction in October 1963. He was cast twice in 1964 on CBS's The Beverly Hillbillies, with Buddy Ebsen. His last television role was as Colonel Saunders in the 1964 episode "The Permanent Recruit" of ABC's No Time for Sergeants, loosely based on the Andy Griffith film of the same name.
Personal life
Richards met Vivian Eccles in late 1929, marrying a year later and later had one child, daughter Ann. Richards died of a heart attack. His interment is at Oak Park Cemetery in Claremont, California.
