Richard Greene

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For other uses, see Richard Greene (disambiguation).
Richard Greene
Born August 25, 1918(1918-08-25)
Plymouth, Devon, England, UK
Died June 1, 1985 (aged 66) (cardiac arrest)
Norfolk, England, UK
Occupation Actor
Spouse(s) Beatriz Summers (1960-1980)
Patricia Medina (1941-1951)

Richard Marius Joseph Greene (25 August 1918 - 1 June 1985) - some sources list his birthdate as 1914 - was a noted English movie and television actor. A matinee idol who appeared in more than 40 films, he was perhaps best known for the lead role in the long-running British TV series The Adventures of Robin Hood, which ran 143 episodes from 1955 to 1960.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Greene was a Roman Catholic of Irish and Scottish ancestry, and was born in Plymouth, Devon, England. His aunt was the musical theatre actress Evie Greene. His father, Richard Abraham Greene and his mother, Kathleen Gerrard, were both actors with the Plymouth Repertory Theatre.[1] A descendant of four generations of actors, Greene was educated at Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School in Kensington, London, and left at age 18. He started his stage career as the proverbial spear carrier in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar in 1933. A handsome young man, Greene added to his income by modeling shirts and hats.

[edit] Career

Greene joined the Jevan Brandon Repertory Company in 1936. He won accolades in the same year for his part in Terence Rattigan's French Without Tears, which bought him to the attention of Alexander Korda and Darryl F. Zanuck. At 20, he joined 20th Century Fox as a rival to MGM's Robert Taylor. His first film for Fox was John Ford's Four Men and a Prayer. Greene was a huge success, especially with female film goers who sent him mountains of fan mail which at its peak rivaled that of Fox star Tyrone Power. One of his most notable roles was Sir Henry Baskerville in the 1939 Sherlock Holmes film The Hound of the Baskervilles. The film marked the first pairing of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson.

Greene interrupted his acting career to serve in World War II in the Royal Armoured Corps of the Twenty Seventh Lancers, where he distinguished himself. After three months he went to Sandhurst and commissioned. He was promoted to captain in the 27th Lancers in May 1944. He was relieved from duty in 1942 to appear in the British propaganda films "Flying Fortress" and "Unpublished Story," and he appeared in "The Yellow Canary" while on furlough in 1943.[2] He later toured in Shaw's "Arms and the Man", entertaining the forces. Greene was discharged in December 1944 and appeared in the stage plays "Desert Rats" and "I Capture the Castle".

However, the war effectively ruined Greene's rising career. Though he did well in the popular Forever Amber (1947), Greene found himself cast in a series of swashbuckling roles. Having turned away from films in favor of stage and screen and having been through a divorce from Patricia Medina, whom he was married to from 1941 to 1951, Greene was cash strapped when Yeoman Films of Great Britain approached him for the lead role in The Adventures of Robin Hood.

Greene took the role and was an immediate success. It solved his financial problems and made him a star.

Amongst other TV programmes, Greene was in A Man For Loving, The Doctors, The Morecombe and Wise Show, Dixon of Dock Green and Mrs Bixby and Colonel's Daughter.

[edit] Personal life

Greene married a second time, to Brazilian heiress Mrs. Beatriz Robledo Summers (1960 - 1980, when they separated). Together they purchased a stud farm in County Wexford, Ireland. Within five years Greene was listed among the top breeders of thoroughbred horses in Britain and Ireland.[3] He also pursued his interest in sailing, successfully competing in yacht racing. He rarely accepted acting roles from then on. His unfulfilled ambition had been to ride in the (British) Grand National.

Greene also had a daughter, Patricia Oakes Roosevelt Leigh-Wood with Nancy Oakes, daughter of Canadian billionaire Sir Harry Oakes.

Greene underwent surgery in 1982 for a brain tumor and never fully recovered. He died of cardiac arrest three years later in Norfolk, England.

[edit] Filmography

  • The Fan (1949)
  • That Dangerous Age or If This Be Sin (1949)
  • Now Barabbas (1949)
  • Shadow of the Eagle (1950)
  • The Desert Hawk (1950)
  • My Daughter Joy (Operation X) (1950)
  • Lorna Doone (1951)
  • The Black Castle (1952)
  • The Bandits of Corsica (1953)
  • Rogue's March (1953)
  • Captain Scarlett (1953)
  • Contraband Spain (1955)
  • Beyond the Curtain (1961)
  • Sword of Sherwood Forest (1961)
  • Island of the Lost (1968)
  • The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968)
  • The Castle of Fu Manchu (1968)
  • Tales From the Crypt (1972)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Charles Kidd, Debrett Goes to Hollyhood, (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1986), 129.
  2. ^ James Parish and William Leonard, Hollywood Players,{New York: Arlington House Publishers, 1976}, 270.
  3. ^ Charles Kidd, Debrett Goes to Hollyhood," (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1986), 132.

[edit] External links

Persondata
NAME Greene, Richard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Actor
DATE OF BIRTH 1918-08-25
PLACE OF BIRTH Plymouth, Devon, England, UK
DATE OF DEATH 1985-06-1 (cardiac arrest)
PLACE OF DEATH Norfolk, England, UK
Languages