Richard Greene(1918-1985)
- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Producer
Before achieving his greatest fame in the 1950s as television's "Robin
Hood", handsome Richard Greene had a significant if largely
unremarkable film career, turning in several skillful leading man
performances in the late 1930s before becoming type-cast in routine
costume adventures. Like his friendly rival,
Tyrone Power, Greene's good looks aided his
entry into films but ultimately proved detrimental to his development
as a film actor.
A descendant of four generations of film actors, Richard
Marius Joseph Greene seemed destined for a career as a movie actor.
Born August 25, 1918 (Some sources list his birth-date as 1914) in the
port city of Plymouth, Devonshire, England, Greene was educated at the
Cardinal Vaughn School in Kensington. At an early age, he became
determined to pursue the acting profession, making his stage debut in
1933 at the Old Vic as a spear carrier in a production of
William Shakespeare's
"Julius Caesar". By this time, the formerly gawky teenager was rapidly
maturing into an exceedingly good-looking young man with an athletic
build, dark wavy hair, and a pleasant speaking voice. So handsome was
he that in between acting gigs, he supplanted his income as a shirt and hat
model.
After a small role in a 1934 revival of "Journey's End and a bit part
in the British musical film,
Sing As We Go! (1934), Greene joined
the Brandon Thomas Repertory Company in 1936, travelling the length and
breadth of the British Isles in a variety of productions. His first
major break came in 1936 when he won accolades on the London stage as
the juvenile lead in Terence Rattigan's
"French Without Tears", which brought him to the attention of
Alexander Korda and then
Darryl F. Zanuck. Fox signed the
youngster in January, 1938, brought him to America, and immediately
cast him in his first film: as the youngest of four brothers in
John Ford's
Four Men and a Prayer (1938).
His excellent reviews and camera-friendly physical appearance (which
inspired mountains of fan mail from adoring feminine moviegoers)
convinced Zanuck to rush Greene into a series of top-notch films which
showed him to advantage, and might have been the springboard to more
substantive roles and super-stardom had fate and World War II not
intervened.
Greene gave several notable performances as a Fox contractor. He was a
banker's son-turned-horse trainer in the popular horse-breeding epic,
Kentucky (1938), a murdered baronet's
son in the eerie "Sherlock Holmes" mystery,
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939),
a college student estranged from his alcoholic father in
Here I Am a Stranger (1939),
and steamboat inventor Robert Fulton in the fanciful historical drama,
Little Old New York (1940).
At the peak of his popularity, with a growing resume of
critically acclaimed film work, and fan mail rivaling Fox's number one
heartthrob, Tyrone Power, Greene abandoned
his studio contract in 1940 and returned to his homeland to aid in the
war effort: an admirable personal decision which would have negative
professional consequences. Enlisting in the Royal Armoured Corps of the
Twenty-Seventh Lancers, he distinguished himself throughout World War
II, eventually becoming a captain. He was discharged in December, 1944.
During the war, he was given three furloughs to appear in British
propaganda features. After the conflict ended, Greene and his young
bride, beautiful British actress,
Patricia Medina (whom he married
in 1941) remained in England for a time, where both appeared on stage
and in British movies. Richard's films included the charming comedy,
Don't Take It to Heart! (1944),
and the disappointing biopic,
Showtime (1946).
In 1946, the ambitious Greene (accompanied by his wife who'd been
offered a Fox contract) returned to Hollywood hoping to take up where
he'd left off. After his dreams of regaining his lost momentum did not
materialize, he opted to take whatever film work he could find. After
landing a solid supporting role in the wildly popular costumer,
Forever Amber (1947), he found
himself cast as a swashbuckling hero in a long series of films, the
most memorable of which was
The Black Castle (1952), in
which the heroic Greene battled an evil one-eyed Bavarian count. By the
1950s, the increasingly restless actor turned away from filmmaking in
favor of the stage and television. His TV credits of the period
included memorable performances on several live drama series including
Studio One (1948) and
The United States Steel Hour (1953).
In 1955, Yeoman Films of Great Britain approached the
still-youthful-looking middle-aged star to play the legendary "Robin of
Locksley" in a proposed series,
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955),
aimed at the American market. The disillusioned, newly divorced (in
1951), financially strapped actor eagerly signed on. The result was one
of the most memorable and successful series of the decade, lasting five
years, consisting of 143 half-hour episodes which made Greene a major
television star and a rich man.
After the series ended, the veteran actor purchased an Irish country
estate and settled into a life of leisure with his new wife, Brazilian
heiress, Beatriz Summers. Together, they pursued many of his hobbies
including travelling, sailing, and breeding champion horses. By the
1960s and 1970s, Greene appeared less and less interested in his
profession, only occasionally accepting acting work. His latter films
were mostly forgettable action adventures and horrors. His second
marriage ended in divorce in 1980. Two years later, he suffered serious
injuries in a fall followed by a diagnosis of a brain tumor. In the
autumn of 1982, he underwent brain surgery from which he never fully
recovered. Richard Greene died in Norfolk, England on June 1, 1985, from cardiac arrest following a fall. He
was survived by a daughter by his second marriage.
Although his movie career was ultimately a disappointment to him,
he eventually came to accept, and even embrace his cinematic fate as a
swashbuckling hero. "This swashbuckler stuff is a bit rough on the
anatomy", he revealed in a 1950s interview, "but I find it more
exhilarating than whispering mishmash into some ingénue's pink little
ear". Of his most famous swashbuckling role, "Robin Hood", Greene
expressed a special fondness and pride. "Kids love pageantry and
costume plays. But the most important thing is: Robin can be identified
with any American hero. He's the British Hopalong!".
Hood", handsome Richard Greene had a significant if largely
unremarkable film career, turning in several skillful leading man
performances in the late 1930s before becoming type-cast in routine
costume adventures. Like his friendly rival,
Tyrone Power, Greene's good looks aided his
entry into films but ultimately proved detrimental to his development
as a film actor.
A descendant of four generations of film actors, Richard
Marius Joseph Greene seemed destined for a career as a movie actor.
Born August 25, 1918 (Some sources list his birth-date as 1914) in the
port city of Plymouth, Devonshire, England, Greene was educated at the
Cardinal Vaughn School in Kensington. At an early age, he became
determined to pursue the acting profession, making his stage debut in
1933 at the Old Vic as a spear carrier in a production of
William Shakespeare's
"Julius Caesar". By this time, the formerly gawky teenager was rapidly
maturing into an exceedingly good-looking young man with an athletic
build, dark wavy hair, and a pleasant speaking voice. So handsome was
he that in between acting gigs, he supplanted his income as a shirt and hat
model.
After a small role in a 1934 revival of "Journey's End and a bit part
in the British musical film,
Sing As We Go! (1934), Greene joined
the Brandon Thomas Repertory Company in 1936, travelling the length and
breadth of the British Isles in a variety of productions. His first
major break came in 1936 when he won accolades on the London stage as
the juvenile lead in Terence Rattigan's
"French Without Tears", which brought him to the attention of
Alexander Korda and then
Darryl F. Zanuck. Fox signed the
youngster in January, 1938, brought him to America, and immediately
cast him in his first film: as the youngest of four brothers in
John Ford's
Four Men and a Prayer (1938).
His excellent reviews and camera-friendly physical appearance (which
inspired mountains of fan mail from adoring feminine moviegoers)
convinced Zanuck to rush Greene into a series of top-notch films which
showed him to advantage, and might have been the springboard to more
substantive roles and super-stardom had fate and World War II not
intervened.
Greene gave several notable performances as a Fox contractor. He was a
banker's son-turned-horse trainer in the popular horse-breeding epic,
Kentucky (1938), a murdered baronet's
son in the eerie "Sherlock Holmes" mystery,
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939),
a college student estranged from his alcoholic father in
Here I Am a Stranger (1939),
and steamboat inventor Robert Fulton in the fanciful historical drama,
Little Old New York (1940).
At the peak of his popularity, with a growing resume of
critically acclaimed film work, and fan mail rivaling Fox's number one
heartthrob, Tyrone Power, Greene abandoned
his studio contract in 1940 and returned to his homeland to aid in the
war effort: an admirable personal decision which would have negative
professional consequences. Enlisting in the Royal Armoured Corps of the
Twenty-Seventh Lancers, he distinguished himself throughout World War
II, eventually becoming a captain. He was discharged in December, 1944.
During the war, he was given three furloughs to appear in British
propaganda features. After the conflict ended, Greene and his young
bride, beautiful British actress,
Patricia Medina (whom he married
in 1941) remained in England for a time, where both appeared on stage
and in British movies. Richard's films included the charming comedy,
Don't Take It to Heart! (1944),
and the disappointing biopic,
Showtime (1946).
In 1946, the ambitious Greene (accompanied by his wife who'd been
offered a Fox contract) returned to Hollywood hoping to take up where
he'd left off. After his dreams of regaining his lost momentum did not
materialize, he opted to take whatever film work he could find. After
landing a solid supporting role in the wildly popular costumer,
Forever Amber (1947), he found
himself cast as a swashbuckling hero in a long series of films, the
most memorable of which was
The Black Castle (1952), in
which the heroic Greene battled an evil one-eyed Bavarian count. By the
1950s, the increasingly restless actor turned away from filmmaking in
favor of the stage and television. His TV credits of the period
included memorable performances on several live drama series including
Studio One (1948) and
The United States Steel Hour (1953).
In 1955, Yeoman Films of Great Britain approached the
still-youthful-looking middle-aged star to play the legendary "Robin of
Locksley" in a proposed series,
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955),
aimed at the American market. The disillusioned, newly divorced (in
1951), financially strapped actor eagerly signed on. The result was one
of the most memorable and successful series of the decade, lasting five
years, consisting of 143 half-hour episodes which made Greene a major
television star and a rich man.
After the series ended, the veteran actor purchased an Irish country
estate and settled into a life of leisure with his new wife, Brazilian
heiress, Beatriz Summers. Together, they pursued many of his hobbies
including travelling, sailing, and breeding champion horses. By the
1960s and 1970s, Greene appeared less and less interested in his
profession, only occasionally accepting acting work. His latter films
were mostly forgettable action adventures and horrors. His second
marriage ended in divorce in 1980. Two years later, he suffered serious
injuries in a fall followed by a diagnosis of a brain tumor. In the
autumn of 1982, he underwent brain surgery from which he never fully
recovered. Richard Greene died in Norfolk, England on June 1, 1985, from cardiac arrest following a fall. He
was survived by a daughter by his second marriage.
Although his movie career was ultimately a disappointment to him,
he eventually came to accept, and even embrace his cinematic fate as a
swashbuckling hero. "This swashbuckler stuff is a bit rough on the
anatomy", he revealed in a 1950s interview, "but I find it more
exhilarating than whispering mishmash into some ingénue's pink little
ear". Of his most famous swashbuckling role, "Robin Hood", Greene
expressed a special fondness and pride. "Kids love pageantry and
costume plays. But the most important thing is: Robin can be identified
with any American hero. He's the British Hopalong!".