John Richardson (19 January 1934 – 5 January 2021) was an English actor who appeared in films from the late 1950s until the early 1990s. He was a male lead in Italian genre films, most notably

Mario Bava Mario Bava (; 31 July 1914 – 27 April 1980) was an Italian filmmaker who worked variously as a director, cinematographer, special effects artist and screenwriter. His low-budget genre films, known for their distinctive visual flair and stylish ...

's '' Black Sunday'' (1960) with

Barbara Steele Barbara Steele (born 29 December 1937) is an English actress and producer, known for starring in Italian gothic horror films of the 1960s. She has been referred to as the "Queen of All Scream Queens" and "Britain's first lady of horror". She pl ...

, but he was best known for playing the love interest of Ursula Andress in '' She'' (1965) and then of

Raquel Welch Jo Raquel Welch (; September 5, 1940 – February 15, 2023) was an American actress. Welch first gained attention for her role in ''Fantastic Voyage'' (1966), after which she signed a long-term contract with 20th Century Fox. They lent her con ...

in ''

One Million Years B.C. ''One Million Years B.C.'' is a 1966 British Adventure film, adventure fantasy film directed by Don Chaffey. The film was produced by Hammer Film Productions and Seven Arts Productions, Seven Arts, and is a remake of the 1940 American fantasy f ...

'' (1966).

Career

Richardson was born on 19 January 1934 in

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

. He served in the

British Merchant Navy The British Merchant Navy is the collective name given to British civilian ships and their associated crews, including officers and ratings. In the UK, it is simply referred to as the Merchant Navy or MN. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensi ...

during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. He initially had no desire to be an actor but when he left the service, his looks saw him receive an offer to appear in a play by a local amateur theatre group in his hometown. He enjoyed it and began to work for several

repertory A repertory theatre, also called repertory, rep, true rep or stock, which are also called producing theatres, is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom ...

companies around Britain. He was spotted by a talent scout from

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

who put him under contract. This lasted for two years but he did little. He had some small roles in film for the

Rank Organisation The Rank Organisation (founded as the J. Arthur Rank Organisation) is a British entertainment conglomerate founded in 1937 by industrialist J. Arthur Rank. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the Uni ...

, including '' A Night to Remember'' (1958), ''

Sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name ''sapphire ...

'' (1959), and '' The 39 Steps'' (1959). His first role of note was in the Italian

gothic horror Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror (primarily in the 20th century), is a literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name of the genre is derived from the Renaissance era use of the word "gothic", as a pejorative to mean m ...

film, '' Black Sunday'' (1960), directed by Mario Bava, which starred fellow British actress Barbara Steele. Richardson stayed in Italy for a

supporting role A supporting character is a character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storyline, but is important to the plot/protagonist, and appears or is mentioned in the story enough to be more than just a minor character or a cameo a ...

in the

swashbuckler A swashbuckler is a genre of European adventure literature that focuses on a heroic protagonist stock character who is skilled in swordsmanship, acrobatics, and guile, and possesses chivalrous ideals. A "swashbuckler" protagonist is heroic, ...

, '' Pirates of Tortuga'' (1961). Back in Britain, he had minor roles in '' Tender Is the Night'' (1962) and '' Lord Jim'' (1965).

Leading man

Richardson's big breakthrough came when

Ray Stark Raymond Otto Stark (October 3, 1915 – January 17, 2004) was an American film producer and talent agent. Stark's background as a literary and theatrical agent prepared him to produce some of the most profitable films of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, ...

spotted him in the offices of

Seven Arts Productions Seven Arts Productions was a production company which made films for release by other studios. It was founded in 1957 by Eliot Hyman, Ray Stark, and Norman Katz. Formation The company was formed in 1957. It came out of the company, Associa ...

and cast him as the male lead in '' She'' (1965), which they were co-producing with Hammer Films. The film was a solid hit. Richardson was the only actor to reprise his role in the

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

, '' The Vengeance of She'' (1968), but that film was a flop.Bruce G. Hallenbeck, ''British Cult Cinema: Hammer Fantasy and Sci-Fi'', Hemlock Books 2011 p161 Hammer and Seven Arts used Richardson again supporting another female star, this time Raquel Welch in ''One Million Years B.C.'' (1966). It was another big hit. Returning to Italy, Richardson had the lead in the spaghetti Westerns, '' John the Bastard'' (1967) and ''

Execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in ...

'' (1968), and a supporting role in '' On My Way to the Crusades, I Met a Girl Who...'' (1967). In the late 1960s, he was considered for the role of

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

in '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (1969) when

Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...

first left the franchise, but he lost out to

George Lazenby George Robert Lazenby (; born 5 September 1939) is an Australian retired actor. Lazenby began his professional career as a model and had only acted in commercials when he was cast to replace the original James Bond actor, Sean Connery, playing ...

. Richardson and his wife, English actress Martine Beswick, moved to Hollywood in 1968. Richardson had a supporting role in '' On a Clear Day You Can See Forever'' (1970) as a ne'er-do-well who is seduced by

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

's character Melinda but eventually abandons her. Richardson and Beswick divorced in 1973. That year, Richardson based himself out of Italy once more and appeared in some ''

giallo In Italian cinema, (; : ; from , ) is a genre that often contains Slasher film, slasher, thriller (genre), thriller, psychological horror, psychological thriller, Sexploitation film, sexploitation, and, less frequently, supernatural, supernat ...

'' films: ''

Torso The torso or trunk is an anatomical terminology, anatomical term for the central part, or the core (anatomy), core, of the body (biology), body of many animals (including human beings), from which the head, neck, limb (anatomy), limbs, tail an ...

'' (1973), ''

Eyeball An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the eye ...

'' (1975), '' Reflections in Black'' (1975), '' Nine Guests for a Crime'' (1977), and '' Murder Obsession'' (1981). His other films of the period include; '' Duck in Orange Sauce'' (1975) a comedy and '' Cosmos: War of the Planets'' (1977) a science fiction movie.

Death

Richardson died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

on 5 January 2021, at age 86, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in England The COVID-19 pandemic was first confirmed to have spread to England with two cases among Chinese nationals staying in a hotel in York on 31 January 2020. The two main public bodies responsible for health in England were NHS England and Public ...

Selected filmography

*'' A Night to Remember'' (1958) - Valet (uncredited) *'' Bachelor of Hearts'' (1958) - Robin *''

Operation Amsterdam ''Operation Amsterdam'' is a 1959 black and white British action film, directed by Michael McCarthy (film director), Michael McCarthy, and featuring Peter Finch, Eva Bartok and Tony Britton. It is based on a true story as described in the book ' ...

'' (1959) - Lt. Williams (uncredited) *'' The 39 Steps'' (1959) - House Guest (uncredited) *''

'' (1959) - Student (uncredited) *'' The Heart of a Man'' (1959) - Official (uncredited) *'' Black Sunday'' (1960) - Dr. Andre Gorobec *'' Pirates of Tortuga'' (1961) - Percy *'' Tender is the Night'' (1962) - Young Man Being Photographed (uncredited) *'' Lord Jim'' (1965) - The sailor (uncredited) *'' She'' (1965) - Leo *''

'' (1966) - Tumak *'' The Tough One'' (1966) *'' On My Way to the Crusades, I Met a Girl Who...'' (1967) - Dragone *'' John the Bastard'' (1967) - John Donald Tenorio *'' A Nun at the Crossroads'' (1967) - Dr. Pierre Lemmon *'' The Vengeance of She'' (1968) - Killikrates *''

'' (1968) - Bill Coler / John Coler *'' A Candidate for a Killing'' (1969) - Nick Warfield / André Jarvis / Riquelli *'' On a Clear Day You Can See Forever'' (1970) - Robert Tentrees *'' Frankenstein '80'' (1972) - Karl Schein *''

'' (1973) - Franz *'' Anna, quel particolare piacere'' (1973) - Lorenzo Viotto *''The Tree with Pink Leaves'' (1974) - Andrea (Marco's father) *'' La bellissima estate'' (1974) - Vittorio *''

'' (1975) - Mark Burton *'' Reflections in Black'' (1975) - Inspector Lavina *'' Duck in Orange Sauce'' (1975) - John Hardy *'' Four Billion in Four Minutes'' (1976) - Francesco Vitale *'' Nine Guests for a Crime'' (1977) - Lorenzo *'' War of the Planets'' (1977) - Captain Fred Hamilton *'' Canne mozze'' (1977) - Michele *''Battle of the Stars'' (1978) - Captain Mike Layton *''Happy Birthday, Harry'' (1980) - Harry Petersen *''Paradiso Blu'' (1980) - Kris *'' Murder Syndrome'' (1981) - Oliver *'' Scuola di ladri - Parte seconda'' (1987) - Il ricco gondoliere *'' The Church'' (1989) - Architect *''Milner'' (1994, TV Movie) - Edward (final film role)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, John 1934 births 2021 deaths 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors 20th Century Studios contract players British Merchant Navy personnel Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in England English male film actors English male television actors Male actors from Worthing