Richard Whorf (June 4, 1906 – December 14, 1966) was an American actor, writer and film director.

Life and acting career

Whorf was born in

Winthrop, Massachusetts Winthrop is a town in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,316 at the 2020 census. Winthrop is an ocean-side suburban community in Greater Boston situated at the north entrance to Boston Harbor, close to Logan ...

to Harry and Sarah (née Lee) Whorf. His older brother was

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Lingu ...

Benjamin Lee Whorf Benjamin Lee Whorf (; April 24, 1897 – July 26, 1941) was an American linguist and fire prevention engineer. He is known for " Sapir–Whorf hypothesis," the idea that differences between the structures of different languages shape how the ...

. Whorf began his acting career on the Boston stage as a teenager, then moved to Broadway at age 21, debuting there in ''The Banshee'' (1927). He had a role in a production of ''

Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunke ...

'' at the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend, and ...

in New York City. He moved to Hollywood and became a contract player in films of the 1930s and 1940s before becoming a director in 1944. He played a famous painter who had resorted to drinking in the 1960 episode "The Illustrator" of ''

The Rifleman ''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The sho ...

'', starring

Chuck Connors Kevin Joseph Aloysius "Chuck" Connors (April 10, 1921 – November 10, 1992) was an American actor, writer, and professional basketball and baseball player. He is one of only 13 athletes in the history of American professional sports to have p ...

and Johnny Crawford.

Directing career

He began his film directing career with the 1942

short subject A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

''March On, America'' and the 1944

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

'' Blonde Fever''. He directed a number of television programs in the 1950s and 1960s, including early episodes of ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central chara ...

'', the entire second season of ''

My Three Sons ''My Three Sons'' is an American television sitcom that aired from September 29, 1960, to April 13, 1972. The series was broadcast on ABC during its first five seasons, before moving to CBS for the remaining seasons. ''My Three Sons'' chroni ...

'' and 67 episodes of ''

The Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor, backwoods family f ...

''. He directed the short-lived series '' Border Patrol'', and the 1964–1965 ABC sitcom ''

Mickey Mickey is a given name and nickname, almost always masculine and often a short form (hypocorism) of Michael, and occasionally a surname. Notable people and characters with the name include: People Given name or nickname Men * Mickey Andrews (bor ...

'', starring

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

. In the summer of 1960, he guest-starred in one episode and directed other segments of the short-lived western series ''

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

''. Whorf directed the unsuccessful 1961 stage comedy ''Julia, Jake and Uncle Joe''. His hobby was painting; he sold his first painting at the age of 15 for $100.

Personal life

In 1929, Whorf married Margaret H. Smith. Whorf died at age 60 on December 14, 1966. His grave site is at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles.

Partial filmography

As actor

*''

Midnight Midnight is the transition time from one day to the next – the moment when the date changes, on the local official clock time for any particular jurisdiction. By clock time, midnight is the opposite of noon, differing from it by 12 hours ...

'' (1934) - Arthur Weldon *'' Blues in the Night'' (1941) - Jigger Pine *''

Yankee Doodle Dandy ''Yankee Doodle Dandy'' is a 1942 American biographical musical film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, George To ...

'' (1942) - Sam Harris *''

Juke Girl ''Juke Girl'' is a 1942 American drama film directed by Curtis Bernhardt, written by A. I. Bezzerides, and starring Ann Sheridan and Ronald Reagan. The supporting cast includes Richard Whorf, George Tobias, Gene Lockhart, Alan Hale Sr., Howard ...

'' (1942) - Danny Frazier *'' Keeper of the Flame'' (1943) - Clive Kerndon *'' Assignment in Brittany'' (1943) - Jean Kerenor *'' The Cross of Lorraine'' (1943) - François *'' The Impostor'' (1944, aka Strange Confession) - Lt. Varenne *''

Christmas Holiday ''Christmas Holiday'' is a 1944 American film noir crime film directed by Robert Siodmak and starring Deanna Durbin and Gene Kelly. Based on the 1939 novel of the same name by W. Somerset Maugham, the film is about a woman who marries a Souther ...

'' (1944) - Simon Fenimore *'' Blonde Fever'' (1944) - Chef (uncredited) *'' Chain Lightning'' (1950) - Carl Troxell *''

The Groom Wore Spurs ''The Groom Wore Spurs'' is a 1951 American comedy film directed by Richard Whorf and starring Ginger Rogers and Jack Carson. Plot Hollywood Singing cowboy Ben Castle (Jack Carson) hires lawyer "A.J." Furnival ( Ginger Rogers) to get him out ...

'' (1951) - Film Director Richard Whorf (uncredited)

As director

*'' Blonde Fever'' (1944) *'' The Hidden Eye'' (1945) *''

The Sailor Takes a Wife ''The Sailor Takes a Wife'' is a 1946 American romantic comedy film directed by Richard Whorf and starring Robert Walker and June Allyson. Plot During World War II, a sailor in New York City who is about to be shipped out to Europe marries a w ...

'' (1945) *''

Till the Clouds Roll By ''Till The Clouds Roll By'' is a 1946 American Technicolor musical film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. A fictionalized biopic of composer Jerome Kern, portrayed by Robert Walker, Kern was originally involved with the production, but died before ...

'' (1946) *'' It Happened in Brooklyn'' (1947) *'' Love from a Stranger'' (1947) *'' Luxury Liner'' (1948) *'' Champagne for Caesar'' (1950) *''

'' (1951) *''

'' (1958)

As producer

*''

The Burning Hills ''The Burning Hills'' is a 1956 American CinemaScope Western directed by Stuart Heisler and starring Tab Hunter and Natalie Wood, based on a 1956 novel by Louis L'Amour. Plot When Trace Jordan's brother is murdered and several of their horses ...

'' (1956) *'' Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend'' (1957) *'' Bombers B-52'' (1957)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Whorf, Richard 1906 births 1966 deaths Male actors from Massachusetts American male film actors American male television actors American television directors Male actors from Los Angeles People from Winthrop, Massachusetts American costume designers Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) 20th-century American male actors American male stage actors