Richard Devon (born Richard Gibson Ferraiole, December 11, 1926 – February 26, 2010) was an American

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to ...

and

voice actor Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talen ...

who between the late 1940s and 1991 performed in hundreds of roles on stage, radio, television, and in feature films.

Early life

Devon was born in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents ac ...

in 1926, the only son of four children of Florence H. (née Glass) and Luca Ferraiole."The Fifteenth Census of the United States Census: 1930", digital image of original enumeration page, Los Angeles, California, April 16, 1930. Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C. FamilySearch digital records. His father, a native of Italy, immigrated to the United States in 1901 and lived in Pennsylvania before moving to California, where by 1930 he was employed as a waiter in a Los Angeles cafe. To supplement his family's modest income, Devon later worked part-time as a stable boy and then as a riding instructor at an equestrian academy in

Griffith Park Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park includes popular attractions such as the Los Angeles Zoo, the Autry Museum of the A ...

.Magers, Boyd
"Characters and Heavies: Richard Devon"
''Western Clippings'', Albuquerque, New Mexico. Retrieved April 5, 2019. That early experience with horses proved useful in his acting career, especially in

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

films and television series. Following his graduation from high school, Devon worked as a mail carrier at

Monogram Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios in ...

, a laborer at a plant nursery, a mechanic's helper, and as a doorman at the

Hollywood Palladium The Hollywood Palladium is a theater located at 6215 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. It was built in a Streamline Moderne, Art Deco style and includes an dance floor including a mezzanine and a floor level with room for up to 4,000 ...

Career

In the 1950s Devon began performing as a character actor in many Four Star Television series, although his work was not limited to a single production company or network. He appears, for example, as Ed Pike in the 1959 episode "Yellow Fever" of the

series '' Colt .45'', which was produced by Warner Bros. and originally broadcast by ABC. Devon's television credits include ''

Richard Diamond, Private Detective ''Richard Diamond, Private Detective'' is an American detective drama, created by Blake Edwards, which aired on radio from 1949 to 1953, and on television from 1957 to 1960. Radio Dick Powell starred in the ''Richard Diamond, Private Detectiv ...

'' (three episodes), ''

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 show ...

'', ''

Tales of Wells Fargo ''Tales of Wells Fargo'' is an American Western television series starring Dale Robertson that ran from 1957 to 1962 on NBC. Produced by Revue Productions, the series aired in a half-hour format until its final season, when it expanded to a ...

'', ''

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp ''The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'' is the first Western television series written for adults, premiering four days before ''Gunsmoke'' on September 6, 1955. Two weeks later came the Clint Walker western ''Cheyenne''. The series is loosely bas ...

'', '' Johnny Ringo'' (in the episode "The Posse"), ''

Space Patrol Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consid ...

'', '' Trackdown'' starring

Robert Culp Robert Martin Culp (August 16, 1930 – March 24, 2010) was an American actor widely known for his work in television. Culp earned an international reputation for his role as Kelly Robinson on '' I Spy'' (1965–1968), the espionage television s ...

(three episodes, including the

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

episode of that series, "Badge of Honor," which aired initially on ''

Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre ''Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre'' is an American Western anthology television series that was broadcast on CBS from October 5, 1956, until September 20, 1962. Format Many episodes were based on novels by Zane Grey, to all of which Four Star ...

''), '' The Tall Man'', ''

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 ...

'' (in the episodes "Ex-Con" and "The Quest for Asa Janin"), ''

Highway Patrol A highway patrol, or state patrol is either a police unit created primarily for the purpose of overseeing and enforcing traffic safety compliance on roads and highways, or a detail within an existing local or regional police agency that is prima ...

'' as a hitchhiker, '' The Rebel'', '' The Virginian'' (as Haskell in the 1970 episode "You Can Lead a Horse to Water") and its

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...

, ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on ...

'' (four episodes from 1960-1967: "The Avenger", "The Trail Gang", "The Scapegoat" and "A Bride for Buford"), '' Laredo'', ''

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the w ...

'', ''

The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...

'', ''

Lassie Lassie is a fictional female Rough Collie dog and is featured in a short story by Eric Knight that was later expanded to a full-length novel called '' Lassie Come-Home''. Knight's portrayal of Lassie bears some features in common with another ...

'', ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television program, television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dysto ...

'' episode "Dead Man's Shoes" in 1962, three episodes of ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a cli ...

'' from 1964–1966, and '' Mission: Impossible''. Devon had a regular role as well as on the CBS series ''

Yancy Derringer ''Yancy Derringer'' is an American action/adventure series that was broadcast on CBS from 1958 to 1959, with Jock Mahoney (1919–1989) in the title role. The show was produced by Derringer Productions and filmed in Hollywood by Desilu Produc ...

'', performing the part of Jody Barker, a

pickpocket Pickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person or a victim's pocket without them noticing the theft at the time. It may involve considerable dexterity and a knack for misdirection. A thi ...

and sometime cohort of the lead character played by

Jock Mahoney Jacques Joseph O'Mahoney (February 7, 1919 – December 14, 1989), known professionally as Jock Mahoney, was an American actor and stuntman. He starred in two Action/Adventure television series, ''The Range Rider'' and '' Yancy Derringer''. He ...

.Rich, Michael (2018)
"Yancy Derringer"
''Fifties Web'', RichWeb. Retrieved April 14, 2019. He also played the role of Cole Striker, a crook, in the 1963 episode "Incident of the Buryin' Man" on CBS's '' Rawhide''. He provided the voice of

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book '' Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939 ...

on episodes of the radio version of '' The Adventures of Superman''. Devon's

big screen 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 ...

career consists of at least two dozen feature films. Some of those productions are ''

The Undead The Undead is an American horror punk band formed in 1980 in New York City's East Village by Bobby Steele (vocals and guitar), Chris "Jack" Natz (bass) and Patrick Blanck (drums). They were one of the pioneers in the New York hardcore scene ...

'', ''

War of the Satellites ''War of the Satellites'' is a 1958 independently made American black-and-white science fiction film drama, produced and directed by Roger Corman, and starring Richard Devon, Dick Miller and Susan Cabot. It was distributed in the U.S. and the ...

'', '' The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze'', '' The Comancheros'', and the '' Battle of Blood Island''."Richard Devon"
filmography,

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Lead ...

(AFI), Los Angeles, California. Retrieved April 14, 2019.

Personal life and death

In December 1959 Devon married Patricia A. Riopelle. They remained together for over 50 years, until Devon died of

vascular disease Vascular disease is a class of diseases of the blood vessels – the arteries and veins of the circulatory system of the body. Vascular disease is a subgroup of cardiovascular disease. Disorders in this vast network of blood vessels can cause a ...

Mill Valley, California Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located about north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge and from Napa Valley. The population was 14,231 at the 2020 census. Mill Valley is located on the western and ...

in 2010.

Filmography

References and notes

External links

* *
Richard Devon at ''Rifleman'' fansite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devon, Richard 1926 births 2010 deaths American male film actors American male television actors Western (genre) television actors American people of Italian descent