Richard Collier (actor)

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Richard Collier (1919–2000) was an American comedian and character actor who frequently appeared in U.S. films and television from the early 1950s through the 1980s, chiefly in comic roles.

Collier as Ed Hawkins in Suddenly (1954)

Collier was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on 13 June 1919, and made his start in show business by performing comedy and taking stage roles in Massachusetts theaters and clubs. He then served in the U.S. Army during World War II, where his duties included entertaining troops stationed abroad. In the postwar period he debuted on television in a 1950 episode of Penthouse Party (as Dick Collier), appearing a year later on The Steve Allen Show. His first film appearance (uncredited) came in The Glass Wall (1953). He played the pivotal role of railway station telegraph manager Ed Hawkins in the film noir classic Suddenly (1954), starring Frank Sinatra and Sterling Hayden.

Decades of steady work followed, with Collier appearing in numerous television series, such as Alfred Hitchock Presents, Studio One, Maverick, Peter Gunn, Bonanza, 77 Sunset Strip, Dennis the Menace, Many Happy Returns (as Harry Price), Batman, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Andy Griffith Show, Kung Fu, Maude, Baretta, CHiPs, and many others.

He played small, colorful parts — often as idiosyncratic clerks, tradesmen, or shop assistants — in movies including The Girl Can't Help It (1956), This Could Be the Night (1957), The Hangman (1959), North to Alaska (1960), Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962), Good Times (1967) (feature directorial debut of William Friedkin), Blackbeard's Ghost (1968), Hello, Dolly! (1969), The Cheyenne Social Club (1970), Blazing Saddles (1974), and Christine (1983).

Richard Collier died at age 80 on 11 March 2000 at the Motion Picture and Television Country Home in Calabasas, California.

Collier (left) as Mr. Saltonstall, with James Stewart, in Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962)

References

• Richard Collier (I) (1919–2000) at IMDb.
• "Obituaries in the News," The Associated Press, March 14, 2000.
• "Richard Collier, retired character actor, talks about his career in New York and Hollywood," Getty Images.
• Richard Collier at The Andy Griffith Show Wiki.
• Richard Collier at Aveleyman.com.
• Richard Collier at Movie Dude's Pictorial Filmography of Screen Actors!.

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