Richard Derr (June 15, 1917 – May 8, 1992) was an American actor who worked on stage, screen, and television, performing in both starring and supporting roles.

Early years

Born in

Norristown, Pennsylvania Norristown is a municipality with home rule status and the county seat of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Montgomery County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the third-most populous county in Pennsylvania and the 7 ...

, Derr graduated from

Norristown High School Norristown Area School District is a school district located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The school district serves the borough of Norristown, East Norriton Township, and West Norriton Township municipalities in central Montgomery County ...

in 1933. While he worked as a bank clerk, he acted with a little theater group in Norristown.

Stage

A life member of

The Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 44th Street (Manhattan), West 44th Street between Ninth Avenue (Manhattan), Ninth and Tenth Avenue (Manhattan), Tenth avenues in the ...

, Derr landed the majority of his leading roles on stage. In 1955, he sang in the lead role in the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical ''

Plain and Fancy ''Plain and Fancy'' is a musical comedy with a book by Joseph Stein and Will Glickman, lyrics by Arnold Horwitt, and music by Albert Hague. One of the first depictions of an Amish community in American pop culture, it includes a traditional barn r ...

''. His other Broadway credits include ''

Dial M for Murder ''Dial M for Murder'' is a 1954 American crime thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings, Anthony Dawson, and John Williams. Both the screenplay and the successful stage play on which it was ...

'' (1952), ''Invitation to a March'' (1960), ''Maybe Tuesday'' (1957), ''A Phoenix Too Frequent'' (1949), and ''The Closing Door'' (1949).

Film

On the

silver screen A silver screen, also known as a silver lenticular screen, is a type of projection screen that was popular in the early years of the motion picture industry and passed into popular usage as a metonym for the cinema industry. The term silver scree ...

, Derr was primarily a character actor. He had a starring role in

George Pal George Pal (born György Pál Marczincsak; ; February 1, 1908 – May 2, 1980) was a Hungarian-American animator, film director and producer, principally associated with the fantasy and science-fiction genres. He became an American citizen after ...

's 1951 science fiction film from

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

, ''

When Worlds Collide ''When Worlds Collide'' is a 1933 science fiction novel co-written by Edwin Balmer and Philip Wylie; they also co-authored the sequel ''After Worlds Collide'' (1934). It was first published as a six-part monthly serial (September 1932 through Fe ...

''. Derr later starred in the ''Invisible Avenger'' (1958), a film based on the radio show and pulp magazine character ''

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator, and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by writer Walter ...

''. The character also served as the basis for two television pilot episodes, neither of which was developed into a series.

Television

In the 1950s, most of Derr's work was done on television. On November 21, 1950, he co-starred in "The Perfect Type" on ''

Armstrong Circle Theatre ''Armstrong Circle Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, ...

''. In 1959, he was the host of ''Fanfare'', a summer dramatic anthology series on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

-TV. In 1965, he played the role of Dr. Dwyer in the three-part serial, "The Adventures of Gallegher," on ''

Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color The Walt Disney Company has produced an anthology television series since 1954 under several titles and formats. The program's current title, ''The Wonderful World of Disney'', was used from 1969 to 1979 and again from 1991 to the present. The pr ...

'', and later made appearances in ''

Barnaby Jones ''Barnaby Jones'' is an American detective television series starring Buddy Ebsen as a formerly retired investigator and Lee Meriwether as his widowed daughter-in-law, who run a private detective firm in Los Angeles, California. The show was or ...

'', in two episodes of ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

'', and in the 1976 miniseries ''

Rich Man, Poor Man Book II ''Rich Man, Poor Man Book II'' is an American television miniseries that aired on ABC in one-hour episodes at 9:00pm ET/PT on Tuesday nights between September 21, 1976 and March 8, 1977. A sequel to '' Rich Man, Poor Man'' that had aired the pr ...

''.

Military service

Derr served in the

Army Transport Service The United States Army Transport Service (ATS) was established as a sea-going transport service that was independent of the Navy Department. ATS operated army transport ships for both troop transport and cargo service between United States ports ...

for three years during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Real estate

Derr had a license as a real estate broker. He was an associate of the Beverly Hills Realty Company and a member of the Beverly Hills Realty Board.

Death

On May 8, 1992, at the age of 75, Derr died of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

in Santa Monica, California.

Partial filmography

*''

Charlie Chan in Rio ''Charlie Chan in Rio'' is a 1941 film featuring the Asian detective Charlie Chan. It was the tenth film to feature Sidney Toler as the title character, who is called upon to investigate the death of a suspected murderer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ...

'' (1941) as Ken Reynolds *''

Man at Large ''Man at Large'' is a 1941 American mystery film directed by Eugene Forde and written by John Larkin. The film stars Marjorie Weaver, George Reeves, Richard Derr, Steven Geray, Milton Parsons and Spencer Charters. The film was released on Sep ...

'' (1941) as Max, posing as Colonel Von Rohn *''

A Gentleman at Heart A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

'' (1942) as Stewart Haines *''

Sex Hygiene ''Sex Hygiene'' is a 1942 American drama film short directed by John Ford and Otto Brower. The official U.S. military training film is in the instructional social guidance film genre, offering adolescent and adult behavioural advice, medical i ...

'' (1942 short) as Soldier *''

Castle in the Desert ''Castle in the Desert'' is a 1942 film featuring the Chinese detective Charlie Chan. It was the eleventh film to feature Sidney Toler as the title character, and the last made by 20th Century Fox. The series continued with Toler, though under m ...

'' (1942) as Carl Detheridge *'' The Man Who Wouldn't Die'' (1942) as Roger Blake *''

Ten Gentlemen from West Point ''Ten Gentlemen from West Point'' is a 1942 American Western film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring George Montgomery, Maureen O'Hara and John Sutton. Its cinematography was nominated for an Academy Award in 1943. George Montgomery replac ...

'' (1942) as Chester *''

Just Off Broadway ''Just Off Broadway'' is a 1942 Drama (genre), Drama directed by Herbert I. Leeds, starring Lloyd Nolan and Marjorie Weaver. This is the sixth of a series of seven that Lloyd Nolan played Michael Shayne for Twentieth Century Fox films. Hugh Bea ...

'' (1942) as John Logan *''

Commandos Strike at Dawn ''Commandos Strike at Dawn'' is a 1942 war film directed by John Farrow and written by Irwin Shaw from a short story entitled "The Commandos" by C. S. Forester that appeared in ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine in June 1942. Filmed in Canada, it starred ...

'' (1942) as Gunnar Korstad *'' Tonight We Raid Calais'' (1943) as German Captain (uncredited) *'' Cry "Havoc"'' (1943) as Marine with Thermometer (uncredited) *''

An American Romance ''An American Romance'' is a 1944 American epic drama film directed and produced by King Vidor, who also wrote the screen story. Shot in Technicolor, the film stars Brian Donlevy and Ann Richards and is narrated by Horace McNally. The film is ...

'' (1944) in an undetermined role (uncredited) *''

The Secret Heart ''The Secret Heart'' is a 1946 film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and starring Claudette Colbert, Walter Pidgeon and June Allyson. Plot Lee (Claudette Colbert) is engaged to marry Larry Adams (Richard Derr), a spendthrift widower with two childr ...

'' (1946) as Larry Addams *''

The Bride Goes Wild ''The Bride Goes Wild'' is a 1948 American romantic comedy film directed by Norman Taurog. Van Johnson stars as irresponsible children's book author and part-time playboy Uncle Bumps, who is introduced to a no-nonsense children's book illustrato ...

'' (1948) as Bruce Kope Johnson *'' Luxury Liner'' (1948) as Charles G.K. Worton *''

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...

'' 1948) as Jean de Metz (a knight) *''

Guilty of Treason ''Guilty of Treason'' is a 1950 American drama film directed by Felix E. Feist and starring Charles Bickford, Bonita Granville and Paul Kelly. Also known by the alternative title ''Treason'', it is an anti-communist and anti-Soviet film about th ...

'' (1950) as Soviet Col. Aleksandr Melnikov *''

'' (1951) as David Randall *'' Something to Live For'' (1952) as Tony Collins *''

Invisible Avenger ''Invisible Avenger'' is a 1958 American film noir crime film directed by James Wong Howe, Ben Parker and John Sledge. The film was a compilation of two television pilot episodes of a 1957 Republic Pictures TV show called ''The Shadow''. Whe ...

'' (1958) as Lamont Cranston *''

Terror Is a Man ''Terror Is a Man'' (also known as ''Blood Creature'', ''Creature from Blood Island'', ''The Gory Creatures'', ''Island of Terror'' and ''Gore Creature'') is a 1959Warren, Bill (1986). ''Keep Watching The Skies Volume 2''. McFarland & Co., Inc. ...

'' (1959) as William Fitzgerald *'' An American Dream'' (1966) as Jack Hale (uncredited) *''

Rosie! ''Rosie!'' is a 1967 American comedy film directed by David Lowell Rich, based on Ruth Gordon's play ''A Very Rich Woman''. Plot Rosie Lord is a widowed millionaire who, much to the dismay of her daughters Mildred and Edith, spends her money ge ...

'' (1967) as Lawyer *''

Three in the Attic ''Three in the Attic'' is a 1968 comedy film directed by Richard Wilson and starring Christopher Jones and Yvette Mimieux, with Judy Pace and Maggie Thrett. Nan Martin, John Beck, and Eve McVeagh appear in supporting roles. Jones plays Paxton ...

'' (1968) as Mr. Clinton *''

Topaz Topaz is a silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine with the chemical formula Al Si O( F, OH). It is used as a gemstone in jewelry and other adornments. Common topaz in its natural state is colorless, though trace element impurities can mak ...

'' (1969) as U.S. Embassy Official in Copenhagen (uncredited) *''

Adam at 6 A.M. ''Adam at 6 A.M.'' is a 1970 American drama film directed by Robert Scheerer. It stars Michael Douglas, Lee Purcell, Joe Don Baker, Louise Latham, Charles Aidman, Grayson Hall, Marge Redmond, and Dana Elcar. The film did not receive much attenti ...

'' (1970) as Mr. Gaines *'' The Morning After'' (1974) as Dr. Tillman *'' The Drowning Pool'' (1975) as James Devereaux *'' SST: Death Flight'' (1977) as Governor Stensky *''

American Gigolo ''American Gigolo'' is a 1980 American neo-noir crime drama film written and directed by Paul Schrader, and starring Richard Gere and Lauren Hutton. It tells the story about a high-priced escort in Los Angeles (Gere) who becomes romantically ...

'' (1980) as Mr. Williams *''

Firefox Mozilla Firefox, or simply Firefox, is a free and open-source web browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation and its subsidiary, the Mozilla Corporation. It uses the Gecko rendering engine to display web pages, which implements current and ...

'' (1982) as Admiral Curtin

References

External links

* * *
Richard Derr biography
Richard Derr biography a

{{DEFAULTSORT:Derr, Richard 1917 births 1992 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male television actors American male film actors Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from pancreatic cancer Male actors from Pennsylvania People from Norristown, Pennsylvania United States Army personnel of World War II