| Darryl Richard | |
|---|---|
| Born | Darryl Richard Rosenberg March 18, 1946 |
| Residence | Los Angeles, California California, USA |
| Occupation | Former child actor |
| Spouse | Jeri R. Rosenberg |
Darryl Richard (born March 18, 1946 as Darryl Richard Rosenberg),[1] is a former child actor who appeared on television from 1955 until 1966. He is best remembered for the role of Morton "Smitty" Smith, the best friend of the character Jeff Stone, played by Paul Petersen, in twenty episodes of ABC's situation comedy series, The Donna Reed Show.[2]
Richard's first television appearance occurred at the age of eight on January 18, 1955, as Tony in the episode "The Bogey Man" of The U.S. Steel Hour, an acclaimed live-drama series, which then aired on ABC. Richard also appeared in 1955 and 1956 in separate roles in three episodes of CBS's The Phil Silvers Show. On January 1, 1960, Richard appeared as Andy in the episode "Sundance and the Blood Money" on Earl Holliman's CBS western series, Hotel de Paree. That same month, he starred as Steve in the episode "Roy Runs Away" of CBS's The Betty Hutton Show. In the fall of 1960, Richard played the part of Turk in two episodes of CBS's The Ann Sothern Show.[2]
On May 17, 1962, he made his first appearance on The Donna Reed Show in the episode entitled "The Swingin' Set" as Morton "Smitty" Smith, the best friend of Jeff Stone. His last appearance occurred in the series finale on March 19, 1966 in the segment entitled "By-Line--Jeff Stone." That episode also constituted Richard's own final network television appearance.[3] It occurred one day after his twentieth birthday.[1]
On June 1, 1962, two weeks after his Donna Reed debut, Richard played Thompson in the episode "The Changing of the Guard" of CBS's The Twilight Zone, hosted by Rod Serling. The episode centers upon a teacher at a boys' school, played by Donald Pleasance, who when forced to retire against his wishes contemplates suicide in the mistaken belief that he has made little impact in his career.[4]
Richard also appeared in The Dick Powell Show, Sam Benedict, The Rifleman, and the NBC sitcom Grindl, starring Imogene Coca. On May 7, 1964, Richard played Ralph in "Charlie, He Couldn't Kill a Fly" of NBC's Kraft Suspense Theatre. On July 18, 1964, he appeared as Frank Peterson on Summer Playhouse: The Jimmy Durante Show.[2]