Dick Richards

{{short description|American film director}} {{other uses}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2013}} {{Infobox person | name = Dick Richards | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1936}} | birth_place = Brooklyn, New York, United States | occupation = Film director, screenwriter, producer }}

'''Richard M. Richards''' (born 1936) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Known as a storyteller and an "actor’s director", Richards worked with Robert Mitchum, Gene Hackman, Martin Sheen, Blythe Danner, Catherine Deneuve, Alan Arkin, Wilford Brimley, and many others.

==Career== ===Photography and commercials=== Born and raised in New York, Richards rose to prominence during the 1960s advertising revolution, becoming a world-renowned photographer and commercial director with clients including Coca-Cola, Volkswagen, Polaroid, General Motors, Hertz, Pepsi, etc.

His celebrated advertising work won every major industry award including the Cannes Lion for best worldwide commercial, as well as multiple Clio’s and New York Art Director Awards. Pauline Kael referred to Richards as "a photographer who became a whiz at TV commercials [before directing movies]".<ref name="auto">Kael, Pauline "[https://www.amazon.com/Reeling-Pauline-Kael/dp/0316481793 Reeling]" Little Brown; 1st edition (1977)</ref>

Wilford Brimley, who worked with Dick Richards on ''Death Valley'', said in one of the commercials he did for Liberty Medical that Richards was his "best friend and partner". Brimley further claimed that Richards helped him to produce television commercials for the company to raise awareness of diabetes and provide diabetics with useful information.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFIsoq63lwo</ref>

===Film=== After years in the New York commercial world, Richards moved to Hollywood and directed his first feature film, ''The Culpepper Cattle Co.'' (1972), which was praised for its historical accuracy and period atmosphere. The film won Richards the WGA's Screen Writer's Annual Story Award and earned Jerry Bruckheimer his first film credit as associate producer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thehollywoodinterview.blogspot.com/2008/02/jerry-bruckheimer-hollywood-interview.html|title=Jerry Bruckheimer: The Hollywood Interview|website=Thehollywoodinterview.blogspot.com|accessdate=October 6, 2018}}</ref> Richards and Bruckheimer, friends from their commercial days, went on to make three more movies together.

After seeing his directorial debut, Universal Pictures producers Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown hired Richards to direct the film ''Jaws'' (1975). They soon grew irritated by Richards's habit of describing the shark as a white whale (which also put off author Peter Benchley) and dropped him from the project, replacing him with Steven Spielberg.<ref name="Brode 50">{{harvnb|Brode|1995|p=50}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thedigitalfix.com/jaws/original-director-fired | title=The original Jaws director was fired for calling the shark a whale | date=June 17, 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/07/jaws-making-of-spielberg-interview | title='Jaws Became a Living Nightmare': Steven Spielberg's Ultimate Tell-All Interview | website=Vanity Fair | date=July 27, 2023 }}</ref>

Richards' next film, ''Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins'' (1975), starring Alan Arkin, Mackenzie Phillips and Harry Dean Stanton, opened to positive reviews. In her book, ''Reeling'', Pauline Kael calls Richards "A real southpaw" and said that, "''Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins'' sneaks up on you-you discover it like a ‘sleeper.’ I found it a funny, velvety film, with the kind of tenderness you can almost feel on your fingertips."<ref name="auto"/>

That same year Richards directed Robert Mitchum and Charlotte Rampling in the Raymond Chandler adaptation, ''Farewell, My Lovely'' (1975). Roger Ebert said the movie "Never steps wrong" and called it "a totally assured piece of work".<ref>Ebert, Roger "[http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/farewell-my-lovely-1975 Reviews: Farewell, My Lovely]" RogerEbert.com January 1, 1975</ref> Sylvia Miles earned a Best Supporting Actress Nomination. Sylvester Stallone also appears on screen in an early, pre-''Rocky'' role. Film critic Rex Reed said, "''Farewell, My Lovely'' is the kind of movie Humphrey Bogart would have stood in line to see."<ref>Townsend, Guy M."[https://books.google.com/books?id=-9koH5oNBvQC&q=rex+reed+farewell+my+lovely+bogart&pg=PA9 The Mystery Fancier (Vol. 1 No. 6) November 1977] Page 9"</ref>

Richards went on to direct the British war drama ''March or Die'' (1977), starring Gene Hackman, Catherine Deneuve, and Terence Hill; the horror film ''Death Valley'' (1982); an adaptation of Erich Segal’s book by the same name, ''Man, Woman, and Child'' (1983), starring Martin Sheen and Blythe Danner; and ''Heat'' (1986), starring Burt Reynolds.

In 1983 Richards won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Comedy for ''Tootsie'' (1982), which he optioned, developed and produced with Sydney Pollack. The film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards (including a Best Picture nomination for Richards and Pollack). Roger Ebert gave the film 4 out of 4 stars praised the film as "the kind of Movie with a capital M that they used to make in the 1940s, when they weren’t afraid to mix up absurdity with seriousness, social comment with farce, and a little heartfelt tenderness right in there with the laughs."<ref>Ebert, Roger"[http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/tootsie-1982 Reviews: Tootsie]" RogerEbert.com December 17, 1982</ref> In 1998, the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.

==Personal life== Richards has been married to his wife, Hilke Richards, since 1963. They have four children.

== Filmography== {|class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Director ! Writer ! Producer ! Notes |- | 1972 | ''The Culpepper Cattle Company'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} | Also cinematographer |- |rowspan=2| 1975 | ''Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins'' | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | |- | ''Farewell, My Lovely'' | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | |- | 1977 | ''March or Die'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | |- |rowspan=2| 1982 | ''Death Valley'' | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | |- | ''Tootsie'' | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{yes}} | |- | 1983 | ''Man, Woman and Child'' | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | |- | 1986 | ''Heat'' | {{yes}} | {{no}} | {{no}} | As R.M. Richards |}

==References== {{reflist}}

===Works cited=== * {{Cite book |last=Brode |first=Douglas |title=The Films of Steven Spielberg |publisher=Carol Publishing |location=New York |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-8065-1951-7}}

== External links == *{{imdb name|id=0724059|name=Dick Richards}} *[https://dickrichardsfilms.com Personal website]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Dick}} Category:Film producers from New York City Category:Film directors from Brooklyn Category:1936 births Category:Living people Category:Golden Globe Award–winning producers