Richard Carlson (actor)

Early life

The son of a Danish-born lawyer,^[1] Carlson was born in Albert Lea, Minnesota.^[2]

Carlson majored in drama at the University of Minnesota, where he wrote and directed plays and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.^[3][1] He graduated cum laude with a Master of Arts degree.^[3] Carlson then opened his own repertory theater in Saint Paul, Minnesota.^[2] When the theater failed, Carlson moved to New York City.^[2]

Broadway

In 1935, Carlson made his acting debut on Broadway in Three Men on a Horse, and appeared with Ethel Barrymore in Ghost of Yankee Doodle (1937-8) and Whiteoaks (1938).^[2]

In 1937, he wrote and staged the play Western Waters, which ran for only seven performances.^[4][5]

He also appeared in Now You've Done It (1937).

Early Films

Carlson then moved to California, where he joined the Pasadena Playhouse.^[3]

Carlson's first film role was in the 1938 David O. Selznick comedy The Young in Heart. He had a support role in The Duke of West Point (1938) then was second billed to Ann Sheridan in Winter Carnival (1939).^[6]

He returned to Broadway for Stars in Your Eyes (1939).

MGM put him in two films with Lana Turner, These Glamour Girls (1939) and Every Other Inch a Lady (1939).

Carlson was often cast as a romantic male lead, or lead juvenile: Little Accident (1939), Beyond Tomorrow (1940), The Ghost Breakers (1940) with Bob Hope, The Howards of Virginia (1940) with Cary Grant (playing Thomas Jefferson), Too Many Girls (1940) with Lucille Ball, No, No, Nanette (1941), Back Street (1941), West Point Widow (1941), Hold That Ghost (1941) with Abbott and Costello, and The Little Foxes (1941) with Bette Davis.

Carlson had the male lead in Secrets of G32 (1942), The Affairs of Martha (1942), Highways by Night (1942) and My Heart Belongs to Daddy (1942).

MGM

He had a good role in MGM's White Cargo (1942), Presenting Lily Mars (1943), A Stranger in Town (1943), Young Ideas (1943), and The Man from Down Under (1943).

During World War II, Carlson served in the United States Navy.^[1]

Post War Career

When he returned to Hollywood, he had few offers of employment, and turned to writing to supplement his income.^[1]

Carlson had support roles in So Well Remembered (1947) and The Amazing Mr. X (1948) and the lead in Behind Locked Doors (1948).

In 1950, he co-starred with Deborah Kerr and Stewart Granger in the highly successful adventure film King Solomon's Mines, filmed on location in the Kenya Colony and the Belgian Congo.^[2] While shooting in Africa, Carlson wrote a series of articles for The Saturday Evening Post, collectively titled "Diary of a Hollywood Safari."^[2]

Despite the film's success, Carlson remained a support actor: The Sound of Fury (1951), Valentino (1951), A Millionaire for Christy (1951), and The Blue Veil (1951). He did play the lead in the low budget Whispering Smith Hits London (1952), and Retreat, Hell! (1952).

On July 14, 1951, Carlson and then U.S. Senator Hubert Humphrey were the guests on the CBS live variety show, Faye Emerson's Wonderful Town, in which hostess Faye Emerson visited Minneapolis to accent the kinds of music popular in the city.^[7]

Carlson began to appear regularly on television shows such as The Prudential Family Playhouse, The Ford Theatre Hour, Cameo Theatre, Lights Out, Celanese Theatre, Robert Montgomery Presents, Hollywood Opening Night, and The Ford Television Theatre.

Carlson wrote episodes of Schlitz Playhouse and Kraft Theatre.

Carlson was in The Rose Bowl Story (1952), Eagles of the Fleet (1952) and Seminole (1953).

Science Fiction

Carlson played the lead in The Magnetic Monster (1953) which led to him finding a niche in the newly re-emergent genres of science fiction and horror.^[1]

He followed it with leads in The Maze (1953), It Came from Outer Space (1953) with Barbara Rush, and Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) with Julia Adams. He also had the male lead in All I Desire (1953).

From 1953-56 he starred in the TV series I Led 3 Lives.

Director

Carlson's success in the genre led him to the director's chair for the 1954 science fiction film Riders to the Stars, in which he also starred.

He then directed Four Guns to the Border (1954).

Carlson kept busy on television in shows like General Electric Theatre, Matinee Theatre, Kraft Theatre, Lux Video Theatre, Climax!, Studio One in Hollywood, Schlitz Playhouse, and The Best of Broadway. He also appeared in films like The Last Command (1955), Bengazi (1955) and The Helen Morgan Story (1957).

His third feature as director was Appointment with a Shadow (1957).

In 1957 and 1958, Carlson played "Mr. Fiction Writer" in three of the nine films made for television collectively titled The Bell Laboratory Science Series. He also directed his final film for the project, The Unchained Goddess.

In 1957 he was cast as two different ministers, Rabbi Avraham Soltes and Father William Wendt, in the episodes "The Happy Gift" and "Call for Help", respectively, of the syndicated religious anthology series, Crossroads.

Carlson's fourth film as director was The Saga of Hemp Brown (1958) and he wrote Johnny Rocco (1958).^[8]

McKenzie's Raiders

In the 1958-1959 television season, Carlson portrayed Colonel Ranald Mackenzie of the 4th Regiment of the United States Cavalry in the syndicated western series, Mackenzie's Raiders, with Morris Ankrum, Louis Jean Heydt, Jack Ging, and Brett King among the "Raiders". The series is set at the former Fort Clark near Brackettville in southwestern Texas, where the real Mackenzie was stationed during much of the 1870s. However, the episodes were filmed at the former Corriganville Movie Ranch in Simi Valley, California. In the series theme, Mackenzie and his men must protect the American border from an assortment of outlaws from both the United States and Mexico. Yet the Raiders cannot risk being caught within Mexico, or they would lose the open support of their own government.^[9] Carlson also wrote and directed episodes.

In 1959, Carlson was cast as Paul Drake in "The Faithless" of the NBC western series Riverboat, with Darren McGavin. In the story line, Drake is an escaped prisoner with medical training being transported on the river vessel, the Enterprise, back to jail. Having lost his religious faith, Drake refuses to render medical assistance to a two-year-old girl stricken with a communicable disease which threatens the entire vessel. William Phipps and Jeanne Bates play the parents of the child. Bethel Leslie portrays Cathy Norris.^[10]

Carlson began directing for television: The Man and the Challenge (which he also wrote for), This Man Dawson, Men Into Space, Alcoa Premiere, and The Detectives.

His early 1960s credits as actor included The Chevy Mystery Show, Tormented, The Aquanauts (which he also directed), The Loretta Young Show (which he also directed), Bus Stop, Thriller (which he also directed), Going My Way, Arrest and Trial, The Fugitive, Wagon Train, The Christophers, and Burke's Law. He wrote episodes of Daktari and the movie Island of the Lost (1967).

In 1965, he played a mad scientist who creates a mutant, killer octopus in the Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea episode "The Village of Guilt".

He was in the films Della (1965) and Kid Rodelo (1965), directing the latter. He acted in the series The Virginian, Bonanza and Rawhide.

In the final two seasons of CBS's Perry Mason, Carlson made two guest appearances, both times as the murder victim. In 1964 he played Anthony Fry in "The Case of the Tragic Trophy;" in 1966, he played Clete Hawley in "The Case of the Avenging Angel."

Later career

Carlson was in the movies The Doomsday Flight (1966), The Power (1968), and The Valley of Gwangi (1968). Carlson's last movie role was in the 1969 Elvis Presley/Mary Tyler Moore film, Change of Habit.

He was in episodes of The FBI, Lancer, Canon, Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law, and Mobile One. His last acting role was in a 1975 episode of the television series Khan!. Carlson wrote for O'Hara, U.S. Treasury, Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law and Mannix.

Carlson is often confused with actor Hugh Marlowe, to whom he bore a remarkable physical resemblance. Marlowe appeared on television and in several films including the science fiction classics The Day the Earth Stood Still and Earth vs. the Flying Saucers.