Richard Garrick
Encyclopedia
Richard Garrick was a director and actor. He was born Richard Thomas O'Brien in the townland of Portlaw
, County Waterford
, Ireland
. His father, James E. O'Brien, was a master tailor in that town, counting among his clients Lord Waterford as well as other nobility and landed gentry. In 1882, James left Portlaw for the United States. He landed in the town of North Adams, Massachusetts
, where there were cotton mills and the need for a clothesmaker. Two years later, his wife Johanna and children followed.
In 1898, Richard enlisted in the U.S. Army. He served as a Corporal in Company M, U.S. 26th Infantry Regiment
stationed in Miagao, Iloilo
, in the Philippines
in 1900 during the Philippine-American War
. When he returned to North Adams, he worked for a time in his father's tailor shop, then struck out on his own.
He ventured to New York City where he landed roles in stage productions, among them The Boys of Company B, The Flag Lieutenant, The Fourth Estate and The Monkey's Paw
. By 1912 Garrick was in Los Angeles and became a charter member of The Reel Club. Through the early 1910s, Garrick acted in, as well as directed, silent motion pictures
. In 1915, he joined the Gaumont Company and was placed in charge of the second Rialto Star Feature Company. By 1916, Garrick was the Director General of Gaumont's Jacksonville, Florida
studios. He left the employ of Gaumont to open Garrick Studios Company, offering a five acre (20,000 m²) facility in Jacksonville that would house enough equipment and space for 20 companies to work simultaneously. As the 1916-1917 season approached, however, the mood towards filmmaking in Jacksonville shifted and there were many residents opposed to the industry's presence.
Garrick went overseas and directed films in the UK and France. When he returned to the United States, it was to pursue his first love — stage acting. During World War II, he was among the cast of Ten Little Indians
, a production of the U.S. Army Special Service/USO Camp Shows in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations.
In 1947, Garrick was once again on stage in New York City, playing the role of the stranger in the original production of A Streetcar Named Desire
, along with Marlon Brando
and Jessica Tandy
. He also performed in the 1951 film version.
His television acting credits include the role of Benjamin Franklin in Night Strike on Calvacade of America (Apr 29, 1953 and Oct 19, 1954); and the role of Thaddeus Grimshaw in the episode Royal Carriage on My Friend Flicka (Mar 16, 1956).
Throughout his illustrious career, Richard Garrick performed along with some of the brightest actors and actresses in stage and film history, including James Arness
, Ed Begley
, Marlon Brando
, Lee J. Cobb
, James Dean
, Julie Harris
, Brian Keith
, Charles Laughton
, Vivien Leigh
, Karl Malden
, Victor Mature
, Ethel Merman
, Marilyn Monroe
, Patricia Neal
, Donald O'Connor
, Maureen O'Sullivan
, Anthony Quinn
, Ronald Reagan
, Ginger Rogers
, Jean Simmons
, Richard Todd
, Spencer Tracy
, Robert Wagner
, John Wayne
, Dennis Weaver
and Richard Widmark
.
Richard Garrick died on August 21, 1962 in Los Angeles
and is buried as a U.S. veteran at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery
in San Diego, California
.
Portlaw
Portlaw is a town in County Waterford, Ireland. It is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Waterford and Lismore. It is situated some 19 km west-north-west of Waterford City, where the Clodiagh meets the Suir.-History:...
, County Waterford
County Waterford
*Abbeyside, Affane, Aglish, Annestown, An Rinn, Ardmore*Ballinacourty, Ballinameela, Ballinamult, Ballinroad, Ballybeg, Ballybricken, Ballyduff Lower, Ballyduff Upper, Ballydurn, Ballygunner, Ballylaneen, Ballymacarbry, Ballymacart, Ballynaneashagh, Ballysaggart, Ballytruckle, Bilberry, Bunmahon,...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. His father, James E. O'Brien, was a master tailor in that town, counting among his clients Lord Waterford as well as other nobility and landed gentry. In 1882, James left Portlaw for the United States. He landed in the town of North Adams, Massachusetts
North Adams, Massachusetts
North Adams is a city in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 13,708 as of the 2010 census, making it the least populous city in the state...
, where there were cotton mills and the need for a clothesmaker. Two years later, his wife Johanna and children followed.
In 1898, Richard enlisted in the U.S. Army. He served as a Corporal in Company M, U.S. 26th Infantry Regiment
U.S. 26th Infantry Regiment
The 26th Infantry Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army. Its nickname is Blue Spaders, taken from the spade-like device on the regiment's distinctive unit insignia. The 26th Infantry Regiment is part of the U.S...
stationed in Miagao, Iloilo
Miagao, Iloilo
Miag-ao, commonly written "Miagao", is a 1st class municipality in the province of Iloilo, Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 60,498 people. It is located in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines....
, in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
in 1900 during the Philippine-American War
Philippine-American War
The Philippine–American War, also known as the Philippine War of Independence or the Philippine Insurrection , was an armed conflict between a group of Filipino revolutionaries and the United States which arose from the struggle of the First Philippine Republic to gain independence following...
. When he returned to North Adams, he worked for a time in his father's tailor shop, then struck out on his own.
He ventured to New York City where he landed roles in stage productions, among them The Boys of Company B, The Flag Lieutenant, The Fourth Estate and The Monkey's Paw
The Monkey's Paw
"The Monkey's Paw" is a horror short story by author W. W. Jacobs. It was published in England in 1902.The story is based on the famous "setup" in which three wishes are granted. In the story, the paw of a dead monkey is a talisman that grants its possessor three wishes, but the wishes come with an...
. By 1912 Garrick was in Los Angeles and became a charter member of The Reel Club. Through the early 1910s, Garrick acted in, as well as directed, silent motion pictures
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
. In 1915, he joined the Gaumont Company and was placed in charge of the second Rialto Star Feature Company. By 1916, Garrick was the Director General of Gaumont's Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
studios. He left the employ of Gaumont to open Garrick Studios Company, offering a five acre (20,000 m²) facility in Jacksonville that would house enough equipment and space for 20 companies to work simultaneously. As the 1916-1917 season approached, however, the mood towards filmmaking in Jacksonville shifted and there were many residents opposed to the industry's presence.
Garrick went overseas and directed films in the UK and France. When he returned to the United States, it was to pursue his first love — stage acting. During World War II, he was among the cast of Ten Little Indians
Ten Little Indians
"Ten Little Indians" is a children's rhyme. The song is usually performed to the Irish folk tune "Michael Finnegan". It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 13512.-Lyrics:The modern lyrics are believed to be public domain and are as follows:...
, a production of the U.S. Army Special Service/USO Camp Shows in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations.
In 1947, Garrick was once again on stage in New York City, playing the role of the stranger in the original production of A Streetcar Named Desire
A Streetcar Named Desire (play)
A Streetcar Named Desire is a 1947 play written by American playwright Tennessee Williams for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948. The play opened on Broadway on December 3, 1947, and closed on December 17, 1949, in the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The Broadway production was...
, along with Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
and Jessica Tandy
Jessica Tandy
Jessie Alice "Jessica" Tandy was an English-American stage and film actress.She first appeared on the London stage in 1926 at the age of 16, playing, among others, Katherine opposite Laurence Olivier's Henry V, and Cordelia opposite John Gielgud's King Lear. She also worked in British films...
. He also performed in the 1951 film version.
His television acting credits include the role of Benjamin Franklin in Night Strike on Calvacade of America (Apr 29, 1953 and Oct 19, 1954); and the role of Thaddeus Grimshaw in the episode Royal Carriage on My Friend Flicka (Mar 16, 1956).
Throughout his illustrious career, Richard Garrick performed along with some of the brightest actors and actresses in stage and film history, including James Arness
James Arness
James King Arness was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon in the television series Gunsmoke for 20 years...
, Ed Begley
Ed Begley
Edward James Begley, Sr. was an Academy Award-winning American actor.-Biography:Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Begley began his career as a Broadway and radio actor while in his teens. He appeared in the hit musical Going Up on Broadway in 1917 and in London the next year. He later acted in...
, Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
, Lee J. Cobb
Lee J. Cobb
Lee J. Cobb was an American actor. He is best known for his performance in 12 Angry Men his Academy Award-nominated performance in On the Waterfront and one of his last films, The Exorcist...
, James Dean
James Dean
James Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
, Julie Harris
Julie Harris
Julia Ann "Julie" Harris is an American stage, screen, and television actress. She has won five Tony Awards, three Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award, and was nominated for an Academy Award. In 1994, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts. She is a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame...
, Brian Keith
Brian Keith
Brian Keith was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his four decade-long career gained recognition for his work in movies such as the 1961 Disney family film The Parent Trap, the 1966 comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, and the 1975 adventure saga The Wind and...
, Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton was an English-American stage and film actor, screenwriter, producer and director.-Early life and career:...
, Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh, Lady Olivier was an English actress. She won the Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire , a role she also played on stage in London's West End, as well as for her portrayal of the southern belle Scarlett O'Hara, alongside Clark...
, Karl Malden
Karl Malden
Karl Malden was an American actor. In a career that spanned more than seven decades, he performed in such classic films as A Streetcar Named Desire, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, On the Waterfront and One-Eyed Jacks...
, Victor Mature
Victor Mature
Victor John Mature was an American stage, film and television actor.-Early life:Mature was born in Louisville, Kentucky to an Italian-speaking father from the town Pinzolo, in the Italian part of the former County of Tyrol , Marcello Gelindo Maturi, later Marcellus George Mature, a cutler,...
, Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman was an American actress and singer. Known primarily for her powerful voice and roles in musical theatre, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage." Among the many standards introduced by Merman in Broadway musicals are "I Got Rhythm", "Everything's...
, Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
, Patricia Neal
Patricia Neal
Patricia Neal was an American actress of stage and screen. She was best known for her film roles as World War II widow Helen Benson in The Day the Earth Stood Still , wealthy matron Emily Eustace Failenson in Breakfast at Tiffany's , middle-aged housekeeper Alma Brown in Hud , for which she won...
, Donald O'Connor
Donald O'Connor
Donald David Dixon Ronald O’Connor was an American dancer, singer, and actor who came to fame in a series of movies in which he co-starred alternately with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule...
, Maureen O'Sullivan
Maureen O'Sullivan
Maureen Paula O’Sullivan was an Irish actress.-Early life:O'Sullivan was born in Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland, the daughter of Roman Catholic parents Mary Lovatt and Charles Joseph O'Sullivan, an officer in The Connaught Rangers who served in The Great War...
, Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn
Antonio Rodolfo Quinn-Oaxaca , more commonly known as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican American actor, as well as a painter and writer...
, Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
, Jean Simmons
Jean Simmons
Jean Merilyn Simmons, OBE was an English actress. She appeared predominantly in motion pictures, beginning with films made in Great Britain during and after World War II – she was one of J...
, Richard Todd
Richard Todd
Richard Todd OBE was an Irish-born British stage and film actor and soldier.-Early life:Richard Todd was born as Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd in Dublin, Ireland. His father, Andrew William Palethorpe Todd, was an Irish physician and an international Irish rugby player who gained three caps for...
, Spencer Tracy
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
, Robert Wagner
Robert Wagner
Robert John Wagner is an American actor of stage, screen, and television.A veteran of many films in the 1950s and 1960s, Wagner gained prominence in three American television series that spanned three decades: It Takes a Thief , Switch , and Hart to Hart...
, John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
, Dennis Weaver
Dennis Weaver
William Dennis Weaver was an American actor, best known for his work in television, including roles on Gunsmoke, as Marshal Sam McCloud on the NBC police drama McCloud, and the 1971 TV movie Duel....
and Richard Widmark
Richard Widmark
Richard Weedt Widmark was an American film, stage and television actor.He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, Kiss of Death...
.
Richard Garrick died on August 21, 1962 in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
and is buried as a U.S. veteran at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery
Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery
Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery is situated in the city of San Diego, California, on the Fort Rosecrans Military Reservation. The cemetery is located approximately 10 miles west of downtown San Diego, overlooking the bay and the city...
in San Diego, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.