Ted Richmond, Producer of ‘Papillon,’ Dies at 103
The 1973 hit “Papillon,” starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman, was one of Richmond’s most successful films.
For 40 years, working for Columbia Pictures and then Universal Intl., he produced movies in a variety of genres. There were Westerns such as “The Cimarron Kid,” starring Audie Murphy, and “Return of the Seven,” as well as comedies such as “Francis Joins the WACS,” starring Donald O’Connor. Richmond was also an uncredited producer on the Elvis Presley pic “It Happened at the World’s Fair.”
In the 1950s he partnered with his close friend Tyrone Power to form Copa Prods. The company’s first movie, “Count Three and Pray,” introduced Joanne Woodward to films. In 1959, during the filming of “Solomon and Sheba,” Richmond was devastated when Power, who was playing Solomon, suffered a fatal heart attack. Yul Brynner ultimately played the part opposite Gina Lollobrigida.
Richmond also worked with such stars as Buster Crabbe, Gale Storm, Joan Davis, Nina Foch, Mel Torme, Penny Singleton, Desi Arnaz, Piper Laurie, Jeff Chandler, Beau Bridges, Cornel Wilde, Charles Laughton, Boris Karloff, Tony Curtis, Alan Ladd, Janet Leigh, Anne Bancroft, Rock Hudson, Raymond Burr, Aldo Ray, Lana Turner, Charles Bronson and Bob Hope.
The producer’s last film was 1979’s “The Fifth Musketeer.”
Born in New Bedford, Mass., Richmond first worked in the movie business as an usher at a local theater. In 1939 he wrote the screen story for “Six Gun Rhythm and Trigger Pals.” In 1941, he produced his first movie, “South of Panama.” (In his early films he was credited as T.H. Richmond.)
He spent the past 30 years in Paris with his wife, Asuko. Richmond is also survived by four nieces and one nephew in the U.S.
Partial filmography
Phantom Ranger (1938) (assistant director)
Two Gun Justice (1938) (assistant director)
Trigger Pals (1939) - original story
Six-Gun Rhythm (1939) - original story
The Last Alarm (1940) (associate producer)
Caught in the Act (1941)
South of Panama (1941)
Gambling Daughters (1941)
Jungle Man (1941)
Blonde Comet (1941)
She's in the Army (1942)
The Mummy's Curse (1944) - story
The Soul of a Monster (1944)
Kansas City Kitty (1944)
Behind Closed Doors (1944)
She's a Sweetheart (1944)
Meet Miss Bobby Socks (1944)
Let's Go Steady (1945)
Youth on Trial (1945)
Blonde from Brooklyn (1945)
Hit the Hay (1945)
The Notorious Lone Wolf (1946)
Night Editor (1946)
Dangerous Business (1946)
It's Great to Be Young (1946)
So Dark the Night (1946)
Blackie and the Law (1946)
Give and Take (1946)
Blind Spot (1947)
King of the Wild Horses (1947)
The Lone Wolf in London (1947)
Above All Laws (1948)
Best Man Wins (1948)
Thunderhoof (1948)
The Big Deal (1949)
Make Believe Ballroom (1949)
Holiday in Havana (1949)
Hitting the Jackpot (1949)
Shakedown (1950)
Blondie's Hero (1950)
Kansas Raiders (1950)
The Milkman (1950)
Smuggler's Island (1951)
Week-End with Father (1951)
The Strange Door (1951)
The Cimarron Kid (1952)
Bonzo Goes to College (1952)
Has Anybody Seen My Gal (1952)
No Room for the Groom (1952)
Bronco Buster (1952)
Walking My Baby Back Home (1953)
Forbidden (1953)
Column South (1953)
Desert Legion (1953)
The Mississippi Gambler (1953)
Rails Into Laramie (1954)
Bengal Brigade (1954)
Francis Joins the WACS (1954)
Count Three and Pray (1955)
Nightfall (1957)
Abandon Ship! (1957) (aka Seven Waves Away)
Solomon and Sheba (1959)
Bachelor in Paradise (1961)
It Happened at the World's Fair (1963) (producer - uncredited)
Company of Cowards? (1964) (aka Advance to the Rear)
Return of the Seven (1966)
Villa Rides (1968)[2]
Red Sun (1971)
Papillon (1973)
Breakthrough (1979)
The Fifth Musketeer (1979)
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