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 ...

, 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.

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. 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.

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.

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 Aube ...

'' (1947) where he appeared alongside Greer Garson 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 ...

. 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 and Donna Reed. 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 boi ...

'' (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 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 French Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public Capital punishment, executions took pl ...

'' (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 Param ...

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 ...

), 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 a ...

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 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'' ("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 base ...

'' ("Heartbeat/Mardi Gras"), '' The Ford Theatre Hour'' ("Outward Bound", "She Loves Me Not"), '' The Silver Theatre'' ("Star over Bridgeport"), '' Masterpiece Playhouse'', ("Hedda Gabler"), '' Studio One in Hollywood'' ("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, an ...

", "Kyra Zelas", "The Light That Failed", "The Passionate Pilgrim"). In October 1950 Hart began playing Ellery Queen 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 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. 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 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