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IMDbPro

Jeff Richards(1924-1989)

  • Actor
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Jeff Richards
Rider Kelly Cobb travels to county rodeos to win money so he can buy a patch of land he wants to call his own. He rescues trick rider Jackie Adams from the clutches of an amorous sports writer after her saloon song, and they travel together.
Play trailer1:50
Lännen rytmejä (1958)
5 Videos
29 Photos
Jeff Richards, born Richard Mansfield Taylor in Portland, Oregon, was a graduate of Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Washington. Upon graduation he was ready to embark on a career in professional baseball when he entered the Navy in June of 1943. During World War II, he served as a radio technician until his discharge in 1946.

After the war, he returned to baseball and immediately signed on with the Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League. The Beavers farmed Jeff to the Salem Senators, but fate intervened and a torn ligament forced him into an extended leave-of-absence from the sport.

While recuperating, Jeff decided to try his hand at acting. During the war, he and a group of his fellow servicemen visited Paramount Movie Studios. While there a talent scout spotted Jeff in the crowd, called him aside, and told him to come and see him when he got his discharge. The agent remembered him and setup a screen test. Jeff was signed to a contract, but was not given any work.

After his time with Paramount, he was offered a contract by Warner Brothers Studios. In the meantime, however, Jeff was still playing baseball and also receiving offers from both the New York Yankees and the Dodgers, then still playing in Brooklyn. So Jeff had the chance to make a choice that many American boys dreamed of making--whether to be movie star or a professional baseball player.

Jeff signed with the contract with Warners and then enrolled at the University of Southern California to pursue a degree in business administration. Jeff attended USC on a full-time schedule and also joined the Sigma Chi Fraternity. Jeff organized a chapter five-piece band and played fraternity dances and club socials. He was still playing baseball, but his decision had been made--he was going to be an actor. Warners began using him in small, uncredited roles in such films as The Girl from Jones Beach, filmed in mid-1948, but not released until a year later, in mid-1949. In it he appears, with another young hopeful, Dale Robertson, as a pair of lifeguards, showing off their physiques wearing only minimal swimming attire in the Jones Beach sequence. Robertson's hairy chest was left intact, but Richards' trademark torso was forced to undergo complete waxing before he could appear in front of the cameras. On loan-out to Columbia he actually got to play baseball on screen in the William Bendix comedy Kill the Umpire (1950).

Next signing with MGM, Jeff was a member of MGM's Lucky Dozen--a group of young and upcoming stars of the 1950s. He was groomed for the rugged, John Wayne-type roles and the two actors has much in common-both were big men, athletically inclined, had similar personalities, and they were both members of Sigma Chi.

During the course of his film career, Jeff acted in over 40 films, playing with some of the biggest stars of the 1950s and 1960s. His most significant role was a one of the Pontipee brothers in MGM's Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), co-starring Jane Powell and Howard Keel. He poured on the sex appeal as Buck Winston, the object of interest of just about every female member of the cast of the re-make of The Women (1939), now re-titled The Opposite Sex (1956). After leaving MGM, for two seasons, he successfully played the title role for 28 episodes of the TV series Jefferson Drum (1958). After retiring from acting in 1960, he returned to the big screen one last time as Kallen in Waco (1966), perhaps as a favor to or from his old friend from MGM, the star of the film, Howard Keel.

Jeff Richards died on July 28, 1989.
BornNovember 1, 1924
DiedJuly 28, 1989(64)
BornNovember 1, 1924
DiedJuly 28, 1989(64)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 1 win

Photos29

Jacques d'Amboise, Matt Mattox, Marc Platt, Tommy Rall, Jeff Richards, and Russ Tamblyn in Seitsemän veljeksen morsiamet (1954)
Howard Keel, Julie Newmar, and Jeff Richards in Seitsemän veljeksen morsiamet (1954)
Betty Carr, Norma Doggett, Virginia Gibson, Nancy Kilgas, Ruta Lee, Matt Mattox, Julie Newmar, Marc Platt, Tommy Rall, Jeff Richards, and Russ Tamblyn in Seitsemän veljeksen morsiamet (1954)
Jacques d'Amboise, Howard Keel, Matt Mattox, Marc Platt, Tommy Rall, Jeff Richards, and Russ Tamblyn in Seitsemän veljeksen morsiamet (1954)
Jacques d'Amboise, Matt Mattox, Marc Platt, Tommy Rall, Jeff Richards, and Russ Tamblyn in Seitsemän veljeksen morsiamet (1954)
Tommy Rall, Jeff Richards, and Russ Tamblyn in Seitsemän veljeksen morsiamet (1954)
Betty Carr, Jacques d'Amboise, Norma Doggett, Virginia Gibson, Nancy Kilgas, Ruta Lee, Matt Mattox, Julie Newmar, Marc Platt, Tommy Rall, Jeff Richards, and Russ Tamblyn in Seitsemän veljeksen morsiamet (1954)
Betty Carr, Jacques d'Amboise, Norma Doggett, Virginia Gibson, Nancy Kilgas, Ruta Lee, Matt Mattox, Julie Newmar, Marc Platt, Tommy Rall, Jeff Richards, and Russ Tamblyn in Seitsemän veljeksen morsiamet (1954)
Jane Powell, Jacques d'Amboise, Matt Mattox, Marc Platt, Tommy Rall, Jeff Richards, and Russ Tamblyn in Seitsemän veljeksen morsiamet (1954)
Jane Powell, Jacques d'Amboise, Matt Mattox, Marc Platt, Tommy Rall, Jeff Richards, and Russ Tamblyn in Seitsemän veljeksen morsiamet (1954)
Matt Mattox, Marc Platt, Tommy Rall, and Jeff Richards in Seitsemän veljeksen morsiamet (1954)
Jane Powell, Jacques d'Amboise, Matt Mattox, Marc Platt, Tommy Rall, Jeff Richards, and Russ Tamblyn in Seitsemän veljeksen morsiamet (1954)

Known for:

Jane Powell and Howard Keel in Seitsemän veljeksen morsiamet (1954)
Seitsemän veljeksen morsiamet
7.3
  • Benjamin Pontipee
  • 1954
Kadonneitten saari (1959)
Kadonneitten saari
5.0
  • Mark Bradley
  • 1959
Varokaa merivettä (1957)
Varokaa merivettä
6.1
  • Lt. Ross Pendleton
  • 1957
Leslie Nielsen, June Allyson, Joan Blondell, Joan Collins, Agnes Moorehead, Dolores Gray, Sam Levene, Ann Miller, and Ann Sheridan in Heikompi sukupuoli (1956)
Heikompi sukupuoli
6.1
  • Buck Winston
  • 1956

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • Jane Russell and Howard Keel in Revolverimies Waco (1966)
    Revolverimies Waco
    5.4
    • Kallen
    • 1966
  • Clint Eastwood, Paul Brinegar, and Sheb Wooley in Lännen tie (1959)
    Lännen tie
    7.9
    TV Series
    • Jubal Evans
    • 1961
  • Koralliriutan salaisuus (1960)
    Koralliriutan salaisuus
    4.4
    • Mark Christophe
    • 1960
  • Robert Fuller and John Smith in Laramie (1959)
    Laramie
    7.7
    TV Series
    • Kem Backer
    • 1960
  • Gardner McKay in Adventures in Paradise (1959)
    Adventures in Paradise
    8.2
    TV Series
    • Paul Garner
    • 1960
  • Alcoa Theatre (1957)
    Alcoa Theatre
    7.4
    TV Series
    • Lt. Dave Hirsh
    • 1959
  • Kadonneitten saari (1959)
    Kadonneitten saari
    5.0
    • Mark Bradley
    • 1959
  • Behind Closed Doors (1958)
    Behind Closed Doors
    8.0
    TV Series
    • Philip Canning
    • 1959
  • Jefferson Drum (1958)
    Jefferson Drum
    7.5
    TV Series
    • Jefferson Drum, Editor
    • 1958
  • Jeff Richards and Mamie Van Doren in Lännen rytmejä (1958)
    Lännen rytmejä
    4.7
    • Kelly Cobb
    • 1958
  • Hal Baylor, Hans Conried, and Chuck Hicks in Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (1951)
    Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
    7.6
    TV Series
    • 1957–1958
  • Frank McHugh and Marvin Miller in The Millionaire (1955)
    The Millionaire
    7.8
    TV Series
    • Steve Logan
    • 1957
  • Varokaa merivettä (1957)
    Varokaa merivettä
    6.1
    • Lt. Ross Pendleton
    • 1957
  • Suspicion (1957)
    Suspicion
    8.2
    TV Series
    • Ralph Jason
    • 1957
  • The Web (1957)
    The Web
    TV Series
    • Jefferson Drum
    • 1957

Soundtrack

  • Hollywood, Hollywood! (1976)
    Hollywood, Hollywood!
    7.3
    • performer: "Lonesome Polecat"
    • 1976
  • Viihteen kulta-aika (1974)
    Viihteen kulta-aika
    7.8
    • performer: "Bless Yore Beautiful Hide" (1954) (uncredited)
    • 1974
  • Leslie Nielsen, June Allyson, Joan Blondell, Joan Collins, Agnes Moorehead, Dolores Gray, Sam Levene, Ann Miller, and Ann Sheridan in Heikompi sukupuoli (1956)
    Heikompi sukupuoli
    6.1
    • performer: "Rock and Roll Tumbleweed" (uncredited)
    • 1956

Videos5

Official Trailer
Trailer 2:23
Official Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:50
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:37
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 3:03
Official Trailer
Many Rivers to Cross
Trailer 3:11
Many Rivers to Cross

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative name
    • Richard Taylor
  • Height
    • 1.88 m
  • Born
    • November 1, 1924
    • Portland, Oregon, USA
  • Died
    • July 28, 1989
    • Victorville, California, USA(acute respiratory failure)
  • Spouses
      Vicki Lenore FlaxmanDecember 17, 1955 - March 18, 1959 (divorced, 1 child)
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Article

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    After his acting career ended, he became a carpenter and worked on construction projects in many Hollywood studios.

FAQ12

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