Richard Comstock Hart (April 14, 1915 – January 2, 1951) was an American actor, who appeared in film and TV productions, but was most active on stage.
Biography
Early years
Born in
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
, Hart was the son and grandson of Henry Clay Hart and Richard Borden Comstock, leading Rhode Island lawyers. He went to
Moses Brown School
Moses Brown School is an independent Quaker school located in Providence, Rhode Island, offering pre-kindergarten through secondary school classes. It was founded in 1784 by Moses Brown, a Quaker abolitionist, and is one of the oldest prepara ...
and
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
, where he was an all-American soccer player.
Richard's brother Henry became the husband of Leatrice Gilbert, daughter of the Hollywood stars
John Gilbert and
Leatrice Joy
Leatrice Joy (born Leatrice Johanna Zeidler; November 7, 1893 – May 13, 1985) was an American actress most prolific during the silent film era.
Early life
Joy was born in New Orleans, Louisiana to dentist Edward Joseph Zeidler, who was o ...
.
Early acting career
Hart first worked as a journalist and at the
Gorham Silver Company before becoming seriously interested in acting through a summer theater in
Tiverton, Rhode Island
Tiverton is a New England town, town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 16,359 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census.
Geography
Tiverton is located on the eastern shore of Narragansett Bay, across the Sa ...
. He was holidaying in the town and heard they needed a male juvenile. He got the job and decided to become an actor.
[Witch-Boy Commands Speedy Recognition; Notes of the Theater The Washington Post 8 Feb 1945: 5.]
Early in his career, "Hart earned as he learned by appearing in radio soap operas."
[
Hart gained early experience with the Providence Players.][ He appeared opposite ]Constance Bennett
Constance Campbell Bennett (October 22, 1904 – July 24, 1965) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress and producer. She was a major Hollywood star during the 1920s and 1930s; during the early 1930s, she was the highest-paid ...
in a production of '' Without Love''. He also performed with the Shoestring Players in Rhode Island.
At Provincetown he was in ''Only the Heart'' by Horton Foote
Albert Horton Foote Jr. (March 14, 1916March 4, 2009) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He received Academy Awards for his screenplays for the 1962 film ''To Kill a Mockingbird'', which was adapted from the 1960 novel of the same name ...
.
Broadway
Hart went to New York to study with Tamara Daykarhanova's School for the Stage. He appeared on Broadway in ''Pillar to Post'' (1943-1944), which ran 31 performances.
Hart's big break came when, as resident juvenile in a summer theater at the Brattle Playhouse in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
, he played John (the witch boy), the lead role in a new play trying out there, '' Dark of the Moon''. The Shuberts took it to Broadway (1945), keeping little of the original company except Carol Stone (who played Barbara Allen) and Hart, who went on to win a Theatre World Award for his debut. A Broadway run of 318 performances then led to a national tour and a contract for Hart with Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
.
MGM
Hart made his film debut in ''Desire Me
''Desire Me'' is a 1947 American drama film starring Robert Mitchum and Greer Garson. It had a troubled production that included numerous directors and rewrites, and was ultimately released without a credited director.
Plot
In Paris, Marise Au ...
'' (1947) where he appeared alongside Greer Garson
Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson (29 September 1904 – 6 April 1996) was an English-American actress and singer. She was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer who became popular during the Second World War for her portrayal of strong women on the hom ...
and Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He rose to prominence with an Academy Award nomination for the Best Supporting Actor for ''The Story of G.I. Joe'' (1945), followed by his starring in ...
.[ ] Hart replaced Robert Montgomery in his role after that actor quarrelled with George Cukor
George Dewey Cukor (; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and film producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO when David O. Selznick, the studio's Head of ...
. The movie had a troublesome production; after poor previews almost half of it was reshot.
In between the original film and the reshoots Hart appeared in '' Green Dolphin Street'' (1947), where he was loved by two sisters, played by Lana Turner
Lana Turner ( ; born Julia Jean Turner; February 8, 1921June 29, 1995) was an American actress. Over the course of her nearly 50-year career, she achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a film actress, as well as for her highly publicized per ...
and Donna Reed
Donna Reed (born Donna Belle Mullenger; January 27, 1921 – January 14, 1986) was an American actress. Her career spanned more than 40 years, with performances in more than 40 films. She is well known for her portrayal of Mary Hatch Bailey in ...
.
Hart's third film for MGM was ''B.F.'s Daughter
''B.F.'s Daughter'' is a 1948 drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Van Heflin. It was adapted from John P. Marquand's 1946 novel of the same name, about a prominent couple whose marital tensions come to a b ...
'' (1948), as the jilted first love of the title character, played by Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck (; born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress, model and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career she was known for her strong, realistic sc ...
. He went over to Eagle-Lion Films
Eagle-Lion Films was a British-American film production company owned by J. Arthur Rank intended to distribute British productions in the United States.
In 1947, it acquired Robert R. Young's PRC Pictures, a small American production company, ...
to appear in ''Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...
'' (1949), a Walter Wanger
Walter Wanger (born Walter Feuchtwanger; July 11, 1894 – November 18, 1968) was an American film producer active from the 1910s, his career concluding with the turbulent production of '' Cleopatra,'' his last film, in 1963. He began at Para ...
production set during the French Revolution directed by Anthony Mann
Anthony Mann (born Emil Anton Bundsmann; June 30, 1906 – April 29, 1967) was an American film director and stage actor.
Mann initially started as a theatre actor appearing in numerous stage productions. In 1937, he moved to Hollywood where ...
.
Return to Broadway
Hart left MGM to go back to the stage. Back on Broadway he appeared in a flop, ''Leaf and Bough'' (1949) (co-starring Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist.
As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film ''The Ten C ...
), then in April 1949 took over for Sam Wanamaker
Samuel Wanamaker, (born Wattenmacker; June 14, 1919 – December 18, 1993) was an American actor and director who moved to the United Kingdom after becoming fearful of being blacklisted in Hollywood due to his communist views. He is credited as ...
in ''Goodbye, My Fancy'' (1948-1949) which ran for 446 performances in all.
Hart had a hit as the original Uncle Desmonde in ''The Happy Time'' (1950-1951) opposite Claude Dauphin and Eva Gabor
Eva Gabor ( ; February 11, 1919 – July 4, 1995) was a Hungarian-American actress, businesswoman, singer, and socialite. She voiced Duchess and Miss Bianca in the animated Disney Classics, ''The Aristocats'' (1970), ''The Rescuers'' (1977), ...
which ran 614 performances. Hart had to leave the show during its run because of his TV commitments.[
]
Television
While acting on Broadway, Hart was busy in television. He appeared in episodes of ''The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse
''The Philco Television Playhouse'' is an American television anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the series was sponsored by Philco. It was one of the most respected dramatic shows of the Golde ...
'' ("Dark of the Moon"), '' The Clock'' ("Expert Opinion"), ''Fireside Theatre
''Fireside Theatre'' (also known as ''Jane Wyman Presents'') is an American anthology drama series that ran on NBC from 1949 to 1958, and was the first successful filmed series on American television. Productions were low-budget and often based ...
'' ("Heartbeat/Mardi Gras"), ''The Ford Theatre Hour
''Ford Theatre'', spelled ''Ford Theater'' for the original radio version and known, in full, as ''The Ford Television Theatre'' for the TV version, is a radio and television anthology series broadcast in the United States in the 1940s and 1950 ...
'' ("Outward Bound", "She Loves Me Not"), ''The Silver Theatre
''The Silver Theatre'' is a television series that was broadcast on the CBS television network from 1949 to 1950. Hosted by Conrad Nagel, it was a live anthology series consisting of dramatic teleplays about romance. It was sponsored by the In ...
'' ("Star over Bridgeport"), '' Masterpiece Playhouse'', ("Hedda Gabler"), ''Studio One in Hollywood
''Studio One'' is an American anthology drama television series that was adapted from a radio series. It was created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. It premiered on November 7, 1948 and ended on Septem ...
'' ("Redemption", an adaptation of "Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
", "Kyra Zelas", "The Light That Failed", "The Passionate Pilgrim").
In October 1950 Hart began playing Ellery Queen
Ellery Queen is a pseudonym created in 1929 by American crime fiction writers Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee and the name of their main fictional character, a mystery writer in New York City who helps his police inspector father solve ...
in the DuMont Television Network
The DuMont Television Network (also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, simply DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being ...
series ''The Adventures of Ellery Queen
''The Adventures of Ellery Queen'' is the title of a The Adventures of Ellery Queen (radio program), radio series and four separate television series made from the 1950s through the 1970s. They were based on the fictional character, fictional dete ...
'' — the first to do so on TV.[RICHARD HART, 35, ACTOR, SUCCUMBS: Leading Player on Television, Stage and Screen Stricken With a Heart Attack
Talbot. New York Times 4 Jan 1951: 30.] Lee Bowman took over the role when Hart died.
Personal life
Hart married his teenage sweetheart, Eugenia Getchell, in 1938, and had one son, Christopher, now Christopher Rawson
Christopher Rawson (born Christopher Comstock Hart) is an American writer, university teacher and theater critic.
Formative years
Rawson was born in Providence, Rhode Island. His biological father was noted stage and film actor Richard Hart. His ...
. His desire to work in New York City led to a divorce from his wife, who chose to stay in Providence with their son in 1941. He later married actress Louise Valery, whom he had met in ''Dark of the Moon'', and they had two daughters, Hillary and Sheila.[
While he was estranged from Louise, "reportedly, in 1947, a son, Richard Lee Hart, was born out of wedlock with Phyllis Eileen Buswell."][ He was said to have lived with actress ]Felicia Montealegre
Felicia Montealegre Bernstein (6 February 1922 – 16 June 1978) was a Chilean-American stage and television actress born in San Jose, Costa Rica. From 1951 until her death, she was married to the American composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein ...
during his last four years of life.[
]
Death
Hart died "at French Hospital of a coronary occlusion
A coronary occlusion is the partial or complete obstruction of blood flow in a coronary artery. This condition may cause a heart attack.
In some patients coronary occlusion causes only mild pain, tightness or vague discomfort which may be ignored ...
" on January 2, 1951. He was 35 years old.[ ]
Filmography
References
External links
*
*
* Christopher Rawson
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 21, 2005
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Richard
1915 births
1951 deaths
American male stage actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
Actors from Providence, Rhode Island
Brown University alumni
Theatre World Award winners
American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players
20th-century American male actors
Moses Brown School alumni