Richard Devon

Richard Devon was another of Hollywood’s busiest character actors. His looks gave him a written ticket to become the perfect villain in movies and television. His voice, dark hair and eyes represented that something ominous was definitely impending on the screen. He was born December 11, 1931 in Glendale California. He had wanted to be an actor from the time he played a small part in a first grade grammar school production. After high school he answered an add in a Los Angeles newspaper which offered him training in a drama school, “Stage Eight”. Here he could work his way through, not having had money for tuition. He painted walls, built sets, waxed floors, and strung lights. During this time he made his first live television appearance for the experimental TV station W6XAO, atop Mt. Lee in the Hollywood hills. Devon also played a recurring character in the kiddie-oriented TV series “Space Patrol”. He made his first film in the early fifties. He went on to appear in other films such as “The Undead”, “Machine Gun Kelly”, “The Commancheros”, “Kid Gallahad”, “The Silencers”, and “Magnum Force”. Devon’s TV work included roles in “Zane Grey Theater”, “Wanted: Dead Or Alive”, “Yancy Derringer”, “Gunsmoke”, “The Big Valley”, and “Mission Impossible” among others. He made seven visits to North Fork in different roles from 1959-62. One memorable role was in the episode “Miss Milly”, which introduced the new general store owner to North Fork. Miss Milly hired Devon, who unknown to her, was “strongarming” the good citizens of the town into paying up their bills at the store, creating instant dislike for the new business resident of the town of North Fork. Richard Devon can truly be recognized as one of the television western’s elite actors of the era.


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