Richard Alan Simmons (October 11, 1924 – November 13, 2004) was a Canadian-American screenwriter. Simmons was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada and served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. After the war, he graduated from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

and then moved to California for a job with NBC radio, writing news and radio dramas. He moved into movies. He wrote the 1961 TV script for "The Price of Tomatoes" episode on "The Dick Powell Show," which was nominated for a writing Emmy and won an Emmy for star Peter Falk. He was survived by his wife of 53 years, Emily; three children and three grandchildren.Obituaries: Richard Alan Simmons. Variety; Los Angeles Vol. 397, Iss. 1, (Nov 22-Nov 28, 2004): 74.

Select credits

*''

The Lady Wants Mink ''The Lady Wants Mink'' is a 1953 American comedy film directed by William A. Seiter and written by Dane Lussier and Richard Alan Simmons. The film stars Dennis O'Keefe, Ruth Hussey, Eve Arden, William Demarest, Gene Lockhart and Hope Emerson. ...

'' (1953) *'' War Paint'' (1953) *''

Beachhead A beachhead is a temporary line created when a military unit reaches a landing beach by sea and begins to defend the area as other reinforcements arrive. Once a large enough unit is assembled, the invading force can begin advancing inland. Th ...

'' (1954) *'' The Yellow Tomahawk'' (1954) *'' Shield for Murder'' (1954) *''

Three Hours to Kill ''Three Hours to Kill'' is a 1954 American Western film directed by Alfred L. Werker and starring Dana Andrews, Donna Reed and Dianne Foster.

'' (1954) *''

Bengal Brigade ''Bengal Brigade'' is a 1954 American adventure war film directed by Laslo Benedek and starring Rock Hudson, Arlene Dahl and Ursula Thiess. The film was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures, based on the 1952 novel ''Bengal Tigers'' b ...

'' (1954) *''

The Looters ''The Looters'' is a 1967 French film starring Jean Seberg, Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French musician, singer-songwriter, actor, author and filmmaker. Regarded as one ...

'' (1955) *''

The Private War of Major Benson ''The Private War of Major Benson'' is 1955 comedy film starring Charlton Heston, Julie Adams, Sal Mineo and Tim Hovey, about a tough-talking U.S. Army officer who must shape up the JROTC program at Sheridan Academy, a Catholic boys' military a ...

'' (1955) *''

Female on the Beach ''Female on the Beach'' is a 1955 American crime-drama film directed by Joseph Pevney starring Joan Crawford and Jeff Chandler in a story about a widow and her beach bum lover. The screenplay by Robert Hill and Richard Alan Simmons was based o ...

'' (1955) *''

Congo Crossing ''Congo Crossing'' is a 1956 American adventure film directed by Joseph Pevney and starring Virginia Mayo and George Nader. Most of the exterior sequences were shot in the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden. Plot Congotanga, West ...

'' (1956) *''

The King and Four Queens ''The King and Four Queens'' is a 1956 DeLuxe Color American Western adventure comedy/mystery film starring Clark Gable and Eleanor Parker and filmed in CinemaScope. Directed by Raoul Walsh, the film is based on a story written by Margaret Fi ...

'' (1956) *''

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

'' (1957) *''

The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown ''The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown'' is a 1957 American romantic comedy film made by Russ-Field Productions and released by United Artists. It was directed by Norman Taurog from a screenplay by Richard Alan Simmons, based on a novel of the same name by ...

'' (1957) *''

Outlaw's Son ''Outlaw's Son'' is a 1957 American Western (genre), Western film directed by Lesley Selander and written by Richard Alan Simmons. The film stars Dane Clark, Ben Cooper, Lori Nelson, Ellen Drew, Charles Watts, Cecile Rogers and Joseph Stafford ...

'' (1957) *'' Tarawa Beachhead'' (1958) *'' The Trap'' (1959) *'' The Dick Powell Show'' *'' Della'' (1964) *'' The Art of Love'' (1965) *''

The Trials of O'Brien ''The Trials of O'Brien'' is a 1965 television series starring Peter Falk as sordid, Shakespeare-quoting lawyer Daniel O'Brien, and featuring Elaine Stritch as his secretary and Joanna Barnes as his ex-wife. The series ran for 22 episodes on C ...

'' *'' Fear No Evil'' (1969) *'' Ritual of Evil'' (1970) *'' Hitched'' (1971) *''

Lock, Stock and Barrel "Lock, stock, and barrel" is a merism used predominantly in the United Kingdom and North America, meaning "all", "total" or "everything". It derives from the effective portions of a gun: the lock, the stock, and the barrel. History The term wa ...

'' (1971) *''

Banyon ''Banyon'' is a detective series broadcast in the United States by NBC as part of its 1972-73 television schedule, though a standalone two-hour television movie was broadcast first in March 1971. The series was a Quinn Martin Production (in assoc ...

'' (1971) *''

Skin Game ''Skin Game'' is a 1971 American independent comedy western directed by Paul Bogart and Gordon Douglas, and starring James Garner and Lou Gossett. The supporting cast features Susan Clark, Edward Asner, Andrew Duggan, Parley Baer and R ...

'' (1971) - story *''

Columbo ''Columbo'' () is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC fr ...

'' *''

Juggernaut A juggernaut (), in current English usage, is a literal or metaphorical force regarded as merciless, destructive, and unstoppable. This English usage originated in the mid-nineteenth century and was adapted from the Sanskrit word Jagannath. ...

'' (1974) *''

The Lives of Jenny Dolan ''The Lives of Jenny Dolan'' is a 1975 made-for-television drama film from producer Ross Hunter. It was Hunter's first work for TV."The 'Ross Hunter touch'" by Arthur Unger. ''The Christian Science Monitor'' 23 Oct 1975: 19. It was the unsold pil ...

'' (1975) *''

Mrs. Columbo ''Mrs. Columbo'' (1979–1980), later called ''Kate Columbo'', ''Kate the Detective'', and ''Kate Loves a Mystery'', is an American crime drama television series, initially based on the wife of Lieutenant Columbo, the title character from the ...

'' (1979–80) - creator *'' Harry's Hong Kong'' (1987)

References

External links

Richard Alan Simmons
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

1924 births 2004 deaths Canadian emigrants to the United States Writers from Toronto 20th-century Canadian screenwriters 20th-century American screenwriters Royal Canadian Air Force personnel of World War II {{US-screenwriter-stub