American actor (1934?2016)
Richard Bradford
|
---|
Born
| Richard Edwin Bradford Jr.
(
1934-11-10
)
November 10, 1934
|
---|
Died
| March 22, 2016
(2016-03-22)
(aged 81)
|
---|
Other names
| Dick Bradford
|
---|
Occupation
| Actor
|
---|
Years active
| 1963?2005
|
---|
Spouse
|
Eileen Elliott
(
m.
1965;
div.
1984)
|
---|
Partner
| Millie Perkins
|
---|
Children
| 1
|
---|
Richard Edwin Bradford Jr.
[1]
(November 10, 1934 ? March 22, 2016
[2]
) was an American actor. He is best known for his leading role in the television series
Man in a Suitcase
(1967?1968) and supporting role in the film
The Untouchables
(1987).
Early life
[
edit
]
Bradford was born in Tyler, Texas, the son of Richard Edwin Bradford and Rose Flaxman.
[2]
His stepfather was a wholesale grocer.
[3]
Raised by his grandparents in
Conroe
, Bradford received his schooling in San Antonio, Texas, then attended Texas A&M on a football scholarship.
[2]
When an injury short-circuited his budding athletic career, and a switch to baseball at Texas State University was stymied due to insufficient semester hours, Bradford, who had long admired the work of actors
Marlon Brando
and
James Dean
, finally decided to seriously pursue a long-contemplated career in acting. To this end he made his way to New York.
[2]
Career
[
edit
]
Supporting himself by waiting tables, Bradford studied acting,
[4]
first with
Frank Corsaro
,
[5]
and finally, in 1962, was admitted to the
Actors Studio
, where he studied for two years,
[4]
leading to roles in Studio productions such as
Mother Courage
(1963),
June Havoc
's
Marathon '33
(1963), and
Blues for Mister Charlie
(1964). Also, he understudied
Rod Steiger
in the touring production of
A.E. Hotchner
's
A Short, Happy Life
(1961),
[5]
an ostensibly Broadway-bound show which folded out of town.
[6]
Bradford's work caught the eye of another Actors Studio member, director
Arthur Penn
, who cast Bradford in
The Chase
(1966),.
[4]
This work, in turn, attracted the attention of media impresario
Lew Grade
, who brought Bradford to Great Britain in 1967 for
Man in a Suitcase
.
In addition to his numerous TV appearances, Bradford has been featured in many films, such as
The Missouri Breaks
(1976),
An Enemy of the People
(1978),
Badge of the Assassin
(1985),
The Trip to Bountiful
(1985),
The Untouchables
(1987), and
The Milagro Beanfield War
(1988), but arguably his best known film role is the corrupt police captain in the 1997 film
Hoodlum
. Bradford appeared in the 1989 film
Heart of Dixie
and had notable turns in
Costa-Gavras
'
Missing
(1982),
The Mean Season
(1985) and
The Crossing Guard
(1995).
In the 1960s, he appeared in the
Sanctuary
episode of the television series
Gunsmoke
and guest-starred in an episode of
The High Chaparral
. In the 1970s, he played Lutie Bascomb in one episode of
The Waltons
. He guest starred(series 2 Episode 21) in an episode of Kojak 'The Goodluck Bomber' in 1975. He guest-starred in an episode of
Murder, She Wrote
in the 1980s. He also guest-starred in an episode in the first season of
Viper
. In 1987, he starred in the miniseries
Amerika
. In the mid 1980s, he was a semi-regular cast member of the series
Cagney & Lacey
.
Personal life
[
edit
]
Bradford was married to ballet dancer Eileen Elliott from 1965 to 1984. He had a son, Richard Bradford III.
[7]
Miscellaneous
[
edit
]
In 1986,
The Smiths
used a photograph of Bradford on the cover of their single "
Panic
".
[8]
In 2004, Bradford gave a series of interviews and commentaries for a DVD release of
Man in a Suitcase
, expressing mild surprise at the ongoing popularity of the series today.
[
citation needed
]
Selected filmography
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997," database, FamilySearch (
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V69X-XKX
: 1 January 2015), Richard Edwin Jr. Bradford, 10 Nov 1934; from "Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997," database and images, Ancestry (
http://www.ancestry.com
: 2005); citing Texas Department of State Health Services.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Hayward, Anthony (April 14, 2016). "Obituaries: Richard Bradford".
The Scotsman
. p. 34.
ProQuest
2024788993
.
Richard Bradford, American actor who played the enigmatic McGill in Man in a Suitcase. Born: 10 November 1934, in Tyler, Texas. Died: 22 March 2016, in Los Angeles, aged 81. [...] Bradford was born in Tyler, Texas, the son of Richard and Rose (nee Flaxman). [...] By the time he was five, his parents had divorced and he and his mother were living in Conroe with her Russian-born parents, Will and Sarah, who ran a grocery store. [...] [A]fter being educated at a San Antonio high school, he attended the city's Peacock Military Academy. He then won a football scholarship to Texas A&M University. [...] [W]hen an injury ended his career, [he] switched to baseball and Texas University, only to find that he did not have enough semester hours to make him eligible for the baseball team. An admirer of method actors Marlon Brando and James Dean, Bradford decided on acting as a career and headed for New York in 1957.
- ^
Richard Bradford Biography ? Yahoo! Movies
- ^
a
b
c
"The TV Key Mailbag: Richard Bradford Once Head Waiter"
.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
. June 10, 1968.
- ^
a
b
Witbeck, Charles:
"Yank Is Hit In British Spy Series; 'Unknown' No Longer"
.
The Toledo Blade
. May 21, 1968.
- ^
Scheuer, Steven H.:
"TV Key Mailbag"
.
The Meriden Journal
. February 20, 1962.
- ^
"Richard Bradford Obituary"
.
Legacy.com
. Retrieved
April 26,
2020
.
- ^
Goddard, Simon (2013).
Songs That Saved Your Life (Revised Edition): The Art of The Smiths 1982-87
. London: Titan Books. p. 271.
ISBN
9781781162583
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
People
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|