Richard Greene

Infobox actor
name = Richard Greene


imagesize =
caption =
birthname =
birthdate = birth date|1918|08|25|df=y
birthplace = Plymouth, Devon, England, UK
deathdate = death date and age|1985|06|1|1918|08|25|df=y (cardiac arrest)
deathplace = Norfolk, England, UK
occupation = Actor
spouse = Beatriz Summers (1960-1980)
Patricia Medina (1941-1951)

Richard Marius Joseph Greene (25 August, 1918 - 1 June, 1985) - some sources list his birth date 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.

Biography

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. [ Charles Kidd, "Debrett Goes to Hollyhood," (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1986), 129. ] 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 modelling shirts and hats.

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 rivalled 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 27th 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. [ James Parish and William Leonard, "Hollywood Players,"{New York: Arlington House Publishers, 1976}, 270. ] 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 favour 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 Morecambe and Wise Show", "Dixon of Dock Green" and "Mrs Bixby and Colonel's Daughter".

Filmography

* "Sing As We Go" (1934) (bit part)
* "Four Men and a Prayer" (1938)
* "My Lucky Star" (1938)
* "Submarine Patrol" (1938)
* "Kentucky" (1938)
* "The Little Princess" (1939)
* "The Hound of the Baskervilles" (1939)
* "Stanley and Livingstone" (1939)
* "Here I Am a Stranger" (1939)
* "Little Old New York" (1940)
* "I Was an Adventuress" (1940)
* "Flying Fortress" (1942)
* "Unpublished Story" (1942)
* "Yellow Canary" (1943)
* "Don't Take It to Heart" (1944)
* "Gaiety George", also known as "Showtime" (1946)
* "Forever Amber" (1947)
* "The Fighting O'Flynn" (1949)
* "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)

References

External links

*imdb name|0338901
* [http://www.robinhood-tv.co.uk/RichardGreene.htm The Adventures of Robin Hood Appreciation Society]
*Van Neste, Dan. ""Richard Greene, Swashbuckler With A Double-Edged Sword"" [http://www.classicimages.com/1997/october97/greene.html] .

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