Paul Richards (actor)

Paul Richards
Richards in the 1963 television series Breaking Point
Born	Paul Richard Levitt (1924-11-23)November 23, 1924 Hollywood, Hollywood, Los Angeles California, USA
Died	December 10, 1974(1974-12-10) (aged 50) Culver City, California
Cause of death	Cancer
Resting place	Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City
Years active	1951-1974
Spouse(s)	Monica Keating (1953-1974, his death)

Paul Richards (November 23, 1924 - December 10, 1974) was an American actor who appeared in films and on television in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.

He guest-starred in a number of classic television western series such as The Rifleman, Have Gun–Will Travel, Zorro, Johnny Ringo, The Rebel, Zane Grey Theatre, Black Saddle, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Trackdown, Rawhide, The Virginian, The Loner, and The Guns of Will Sonnett. One of Richards' most memorable appearances came in the very first Gunsmoke episode, entitled "Matt Gets It," broadcast on CBS on September 10, 1955, as the first antagonist to outdraw and nearly kill Marshal Matt Dillon. He made additional guest appearances in 1956, 1958, and 1968.

Richards guest-starred three times in 1956 on the NBC western anthology series Frontier, having portrayed Louis Rose in "The Texicans", John Webb in "The Big Dry", and Will Shaw in "The Salt War". He guest-starred in Brian Keith's first series, Crusader, a Cold War drama. Richards appeared twice on the ABC and later syndicated western series Tombstone Territory, starring Pat Conway and Richard Eastham, in the episodes "Thicker than Water" (1958) and "The Noose That Broke" (1959). Richards was cast as Bret Younger in the episode "The Desperado" (1957) on the ABC western series, Broken Arrow.