Richard Stapley
Encyclopedia
Richard Stapley, also known by the stage name
Richard Wyler, (June 20, 1923 - March 5, 2010) was a British
-born American
actor
and writer
.
, Essex
, England
, in 1923. A writer, Stapley published his first novel
when he was just 17 years old. He served in the Royal Air Force
during World War II
.
. He soon signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
(MGM), making his film debut in the 1948 film, The Three Musketeers
, opposite Elizabeth Taylor
. He next appeared in the 1949 remake, Little Women
, in which he played John Brooke, the love interest of Janet Leigh
's character, Meg.
He continued to appear in a string of Hollywood films at different studios during the 1940s and 1950s, including the 1951 horror film
The Strange Door
, which co-starred Boris Karlof;
1953's King of the Khyber Rifles
, opposite Tyrone Power
; Charge of the Lancers
with Paulette Goddard
; and The Iron Glove with Robert Stack in 1954.
Stapley returned to the United Kingdom
and Europe
in 1960, where he adopted the stage name, Richard Wyler. His British television credits from that era included the crime series, Man From Interpol. He also appeared in a series of European-made adventure and western films using the name, Richard Wyler, including The Barbarians, The Rattler Kid, The Bounty Killer, Dick Smart, and The Girl From Rio, which co-starred Shirley Eaton
and George Sanders
.
During the 1970s, Stapley returned to film roles under his birthname, Richard Stapley. He co-starred in the 1970 film, Connecting Rooms
, opposite Michael Redgrave
and Bette Davis
. He was also cast in Alfred Hitchcock
's Frenzy
.
Stapley became a naturalized
U.S. citizen during his later life. He focused on writing following his acting career. He published a novel entitled, Naked Legacy, in 2004. Stapley also completed a second novel and corresponding adapted screenplay, both called Tomorrow Will Be Cancelled. He was working on an autobiography at the time of his death in 2010.
Richard Stapley died of kidney failure
at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, California
, on March 5, 2010, at the age of 86. His death was announced by his publicist
, Alan Eichler.
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
Richard Wyler, (June 20, 1923 - March 5, 2010) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-born American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
.
Early life
Stapley was born in Westcliff-on-SeaWestcliff-on-Sea
Westcliff-on-Sea is a suburb of Southend-on-Sea, a seaside resort in the East of England and unitary authority in Essex. It is situated on the northern bank of the Thames Estuary and about 34 miles east of London.-Geography:...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, in 1923. A writer, Stapley published his first novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
when he was just 17 years old. He served in the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Career
Following the end of War War II, Stapley began appearing in theater roles in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He soon signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
(MGM), making his film debut in the 1948 film, The Three Musketeers
The Three Musketeers (1948 film)
The Three Musketeers is a Technicolor adventure film adaptation of the classic novel The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, père which starred Gene Kelly and Lana Turner...
, opposite Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
. He next appeared in the 1949 remake, Little Women
Little Women (1949 film)
Little Women directed by Mervyn LeRoy is based on Louisa May Alcott's novel of the same name. The screenplay was written by Sally Benson, Victor Heerman, Sarah Y. Mason, and Andrew Solt...
, in which he played John Brooke, the love interest of Janet Leigh
Janet Leigh
Janet Leigh , born Jeanette Helen Morrison, was an American actress. She was the wife of actor Tony Curtis from June 1951 to September 1962 and the mother of Kelly Curtis and Jamie Lee Curtis....
's character, Meg.
He continued to appear in a string of Hollywood films at different studios during the 1940s and 1950s, including the 1951 horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
The Strange Door
The Strange Door
The Strange Door is a horror film, released by Universal Pictures. The film starred Charles Laughton, Boris Karloff, and Sally Forrest. It was directed by Joseph Pevney and was based on the short story, The Sire de Maletroit's Door by Robert Louis Stevenson...
, which co-starred Boris Karlof;
1953's King of the Khyber Rifles
King of the Khyber Rifles (film)
King of the Khyber Rifles is a 1953 adventure film directed by Henry King and starring Tyrone Power and Terry Moore. The film is based on the novel King of the Khyber Rifles by Talbot Mundy. It is a remake of John Ford's The Black Watch . The Khyber Pass scenes were shot in Alabama Hills, Lone...
, opposite Tyrone Power
Tyrone Power
Tyrone Edmund Power, Jr. , usually credited as Tyrone Power and known sometimes as Ty Power, was an American film and stage actor who appeared in dozens of films from the 1930s to the 1950s, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads such as in The Mark of Zorro, Blood and Sand, The Black Swan,...
; Charge of the Lancers
Charge of the Lancers
Charge of the Lancers is a 1954 American war film directed by William Castle and starring Paulette Goddard, Jean-Pierre Aumont and Richard Wyler...
with Paulette Goddard
Paulette Goddard
Paulette Goddard was an American film and theatre actress. A former child fashion model and in several Broadway productions as Ziegfeld Girl, she was a major star of the Paramount Studio in the 1940s. She was married to several notable men, including Charlie Chaplin, Burgess Meredith, and Erich...
; and The Iron Glove with Robert Stack in 1954.
Stapley returned to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in 1960, where he adopted the stage name, Richard Wyler. His British television credits from that era included the crime series, Man From Interpol. He also appeared in a series of European-made adventure and western films using the name, Richard Wyler, including The Barbarians, The Rattler Kid, The Bounty Killer, Dick Smart, and The Girl From Rio, which co-starred Shirley Eaton
Shirley Eaton
Shirley Eaton is an English actress.Eaton appeared regularly in British films throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and achieved notability for her performance as Bond Girl Jill Masterson in the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger...
and George Sanders
George Sanders
George Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...
.
During the 1970s, Stapley returned to film roles under his birthname, Richard Stapley. He co-starred in the 1970 film, Connecting Rooms
Connecting Rooms
Connecting Rooms is a 1970 British drama film written and directed by Franklin Gollings. The screenplay is based on the play The Cellist by Marion Hart....
, opposite Michael Redgrave
Michael Redgrave
Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave, CBE was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author.-Youth and education:...
and Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
. He was also cast in Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's Frenzy
Frenzy
Frenzy is a 1972 British thriller film produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and is the penultimate feature film of his extensive career. The film is based upon the novel Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square by Arthur La Bern, and was adapted for the screen by Anthony Shaffer. La Bern...
.
Stapley became a naturalized
Naturalization
Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
U.S. citizen during his later life. He focused on writing following his acting career. He published a novel entitled, Naked Legacy, in 2004. Stapley also completed a second novel and corresponding adapted screenplay, both called Tomorrow Will Be Cancelled. He was working on an autobiography at the time of his death in 2010.
Richard Stapley died of kidney failure
Renal failure
Renal failure or kidney failure describes a medical condition in which the kidneys fail to adequately filter toxins and waste products from the blood...
at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
, on March 5, 2010, at the age of 86. His death was announced by his publicist
Publicist
A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a public figure, especially a celebrity, a business, or for a work such as a book, film or album...
, Alan Eichler.
Selected filmography
- King of the Khyber RiflesKing of the Khyber Rifles (film)King of the Khyber Rifles is a 1953 adventure film directed by Henry King and starring Tyrone Power and Terry Moore. The film is based on the novel King of the Khyber Rifles by Talbot Mundy. It is a remake of John Ford's The Black Watch . The Khyber Pass scenes were shot in Alabama Hills, Lone...
(1953) - D-Day the Sixth of JuneD-Day the Sixth of JuneD-Day the Sixth of June is a 1956 romantic war film made by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Henry Koster and produced by Charles Brackett from a screenplay by Ivan Moffat and Harry Brown, based on the novel, The Sixth of June by Lionel Shapiro....
(1956) - Identity UnknownIdentity Unknown (1960 film)Identity Unknown is a 1960 British drama film directed by Frank Marshall and starring Richard Wyler, Pauline Yates and Patricia Plunkett. Two reporters develop a relationship while investigating an aircraft accident.-Cast:* Richard Wyler - John...
(1960) - Revak the RebelRevak the RebelRevak the Rebel is a 1960 film set in Iberia in the days leading up to the outbreak of the Second Punic War...
(1960)