| Jeff Richards | |
|---|---|
Richards as Buck Winston in The Opposite Sex (1956). |
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| Born | Richard Mansfield Taylor November 1, 1924 Portland, Oregon, USA |
| Died | July 28, 1989 (aged 64)[1] San Bernardino, California, USA |
| Occupation | Baseball player, actor |
| Years active | 1946-1949 (Baseball, shortstop) 1948-1966 (film and television) |
| Spouse | Shirley Sibre (m. 1954–1955) Vickie Taylor (1955-?) |
Jeff Richards (November 1, 1924 – July 28, 1989), was an American minor league baseball player with the Portland Beavers who later became an actor. He was sometimes credited as Dick Taylor and Richard Taylor.
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He was born Richard Mansfield Taylor in Portland, Oregon. Taylor joined the United States Navy during World War and served until 1946.
After the war was over, Richard Taylor played short stop for the Portland Beavers for a year and then for the Salem Senators, however his baseball career ended after he tore his ligament and was unable to play anymore.
He then went to Hollywood where he got a screen test at Metro-Goldwyn Mayer and the studio changed his name to Jeff Richards. The former baseball player started his acting career in the late 1940s with mostly bit parts, but in 1950 he played a strong role, displaying his baseball skills as Bob Langdon in Kill the Umpire and later as Dave Rothberg in Angels in the Outfield (1951).
He is best known for his role as Benjamin Pontipee in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954). Following this performance, he tied with George Nader and Joe Adams for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer as the year's most promising male film personality. Despite this, his acting career soon declined.
In 1958, he played the title role in the NBC TV western series Jefferson Drum, the story of a crusading journalist with Eugene Martin portrayed his young son. The series was cancelled after one season on screen. He appeared in numerous television series including the co-starring role in the 1961 "Incident of His Brother's Keeper" CBS western anthology Rawhide.
He was married to Vickie Taylor and they had one child before they divorced.
Jeff Richards died on July 28, 1989, aged 64 from unknown causes.