Richard Neilson

Richard Neilson, born on November 30, 1924 in London as Richard Nelson, under which name a few early credits exist, first came to fame as the apparent British Table Tennis Champion at age 14. He later went on to acting in British Music Hall productions, Later, he appeared on the British stage in a production of "The Little Foxes" in 1942, "the Time of Your Life" in 1946, Irwin Shaw's "The Assassin," at the Savoy. Meanwhile, he began a film career in the British "film noir" production "No Orchids for Miss Blandish," which had trouble being shown in the US due to its depictions of violence. Richard played an American gangster "Rich." By 1947 Richard had moved to the US, and appeared in "Four Hours to Kill,' and in 1949, billed as a "Canadian actor" and still occasionally as "Richard Nelson," he appeared in a production of "Tobacco Road." In 1949 Richard was cast, uncredited, as the "Motor Pool Sergeant," a supporting role opposite Cary Grant, in "I was A Male War Bride." Once in the US, Richard's career tended more to stage productions, and more specifically to Broadway and off-Broadway, and especially road productions of hit Broadway shows. These included "Song Out of Sorrow," "Dream Girl," (1950), "Camelot," "Dial M for Murder," "Redhead," "canterbury Tales," with Ray Walston, "The Jockey Club Stakes" with Wilfrid Hyde White, the revival of "My Fair Lady" in New York, as "Colonel Pickering", with which he went on to star in a long-running and successful road show engagement into the 1960's. Other credits include a stage production of "Hostile Witness" with Ray Milland, and a long-running production of "Equus," "The Elephant Man," "aren't We All," and "The King and I." His most recent credits include the commentary following the re-release of "No Orchids for Miss Blandish" on DVD a few years ago. Richard resides in Connecticut and celebrates his 90th Birthday this month.