Richard Alexander

Richard Alexander

actor

Richard Alexander was born on Nov 19, 1902 in USA. Richard Alexander's big-screen debut came with Brown of Harvard directed by Jack Conway in 1926, strarring Football Fan (uncredited). Richard Alexander is known for A Big Hand for the Little Lady directed by Fielder Cook, Henry Fonda stars as Meredith and Joanne Woodward as Mary. The upcoming new movie Richard Alexander plays is The King of Kings which will be released on Jan 01, 2004.

An actor whose filmography comprises 307 films and TV series episodes can't have been in 307 memorable works. Which is the case of Richard (aka Dick) Alexander, one of those numerous character actors Hollywood used to over-consume without giving them the opportunity to really display their talents. Too bad because during the years 1926-1931, Alexander looked set to have an interesting career with supporting roles alongside Olga Baclanova (Lou's sweetheart in Josef von Sternberg's Les damnés de l'océan (1928)), Bebe Daniels (Gonzales in Rio Rita (1929) and even the Divine Greta Garbo (The general's aide in La belle ténébreuse (1928). He also appeared in Lewis Milestone's antiwar masterpiece À l'Ouest rien de nouveau (1930) as a German soldier. Unfortunately this was to be his swan song - with only a couple of exceptions such as Destination inconnue (1933) or L'Impératrice rouge (1934)). As of 1931, Richard Alexander was to be hired either for minor (at times even very minor) parts in A Films (a warrior in Les croisades (1935), a farmer in La vie de Louis Pasteur (1936), a man with a pike in Marie-Antoinette (1938)) or for supporting parts in hordes of mediocre westerns. Richard Alexander's tall figure, strong build and square-jawed face actually killed his career. The fault lies with the laziness of casting directors: Richard Alexander had given a good performance as a henchman in Coeurs farouches (1930), well, he would be a brutal henchman in every two run-of-the-mill westerns. Among the 300-odd roles he played, he was cast forty times as a henchman, no less! And if he was not the villain of the piece he was often credited as a strong, big, burly or tough guy. Sure he always made a good job of it but Richard Alexander had shown at the outset of his career how varied his acting could be and he would certainly rather not have repeated the same type of character over and over again. That is why playing Prince Barin, Buster Crabbe's loyal ally in the Flash Gordon (1936) serial must have been a breath of fresh air for him. Whatever the case may be, Richard Alexander continued bravely to be tough and burly on the screen, not retiring before the age of 72. Towards the end of his career, the aging performer also became an active member of the Screen Actors Guild, representing Hollywood extras. In 1989,Alexander passed away more or less forgotten in spite of his 307 screen appearances. He was 86.

  • Birthday

    Nov 19, 1902

  • Place of Birth

    Dallas, Texas, USA

Known For

A Big Hand for the Little Lady
Movie
A Big Hand for the Little Lady

19667.3

36 Hours
Movie
36 Hours

19657.3

The Great Race
Movie
The Great Race

19657.2

The Big Country
Movie
The Big Country

19587.9

The Last Hurrah
Movie
The Last Hurrah

19587.3

The Band Wagon
Movie
The Band Wagon

19537.4

Father of the Bride
Movie
Father of the Bride

19507.1

I Was a Criminal
Movie
I Was a Criminal

19458.2

The House of Fear
Movie
The House of Fear

19457.2

Hangmen Also Die!
Movie
Hangmen Also Die!

19437.4

Movies & TV Shows

All
Movies
TV Shows