RICHARD GREENE BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Richard Greene was born on August 25th, 1918 in Plymouth, Devon, England in the United Kingdom.  Greene was the grandson of film pioneer, William Friese-Greene.  Greene received his education at the Cardinal Vaughn School in Kensington.  He became interested in acting as a youngster.

His acting debut was in a Shakespeare play, "Julius Ceasar" (1933).  As a teenager he earned an income as a shirt and hat model.  After he got a small role in a musical film, "Sing As We Go" (1934) he joined the Brandon Thomas Repertory Company in 1936 and traveled performing in various productions. 
 
He caught the eye of Darryl F. Zanuck and was signed to Fox in 1938 and he relocated to America.  His first film debut was in, "Four Men and a Prayer" (1938).  The film received raved reviews and with his good looks and exceeding fan mail, he was given roles in numerous top notch films such as, "Kentucky" (1938), "Here I Am a Stranger" (1939), "The Little Princess" (1939) starring Shirley Temple in one of her most beloved films and "Little Old New York" (1940).  
 
With his popularity increasing and film roles becoming more and more available to him, he briefly left his acting career to serve his home country in the World War II efforts eventually reaching the rank of captain.  In 1944, he was discharged.  

He soon moved back to Hollywood with his wife, Patricia Medina, whom had been offered a contract with Fox.  Sadly, his career did not pick up where he had left it.  It was difficult to find film work and he had to settle for whatever roles he could get regardless of the level of the film. 

Greene was soon cast in a supporting role for the film, "Forever Amber" (1947) and this lead to a series of film roles, the most impressive being, "The Black Castle" (1952).  As his career progressed into the 1950's, Greene decided to try out television acting.  Some of his television roles in the 50's were, "Studio One" and "U.S. Steel Hour".  He and his first wife divorced and he continued on in pursuit of an even more aspiring acting career.

His greatest fame role occurred in 1955 when he was asked by Yeoman films of Great Britain to play the character, Robin Hood in, "The Adventures of Robin Hood".  The ultimate outcome was one of the most successful series of the entire decade lasting a total of five years.  He starred in a total of 143 episodes and he became a huge television star and a very wealthy man.

As the series came to an end, Greene retired from acting and relocated to an Irish Country estate with his new wife, Beatrice Summers whom he married in 1960.  On occasion, he would return to the industry to make appearances, but nothing in his later years ever compared to the stature of his early work.  

In 1982, Greene suffered serious injuries from a fall and had to undergo brain surgery.  He never fully recovered from the incident and on June 1st, 1985 Greene passed away in England from cardiac arrest.  He was survived by one daughter from his second marriage.      
 
 
Filmography

1982   Squadron
1981   Scarf Jack 
1980   Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson
1979   Tales of the Unexpected
1978   The Professionals
1975   Whodunnit?
1974   Dixon of Dock Green 
1972   Tales from the Crypt 
1969   Sax Rohmer's The Castle of Fu Manchu
1968   Kiss and Kill 
1967   Off to See the Wizard
1967   Island of the Lost 
1960   Sword of Sherwood Forest 
1955-1960  The Adventures of Robin Hood
1960   G.E. True Theater 
1960   Beyond the Curtain 
1960   Jonnie and Me
1959   The United States Steel Hour 
1956   Contraband Spain
1953   Captain Scarlett
1953   The Bandits of Corsica
1953   Rogue's March
1952   The Black Castle  
1951-1952  Robert Montgomery Presents 
1951   Lights Out
1951   Lux Video Theatre
1951   Somerset Maugham TV Theatre 
1951   Studio One in Hollywood 
1951   Lorna Doone
1951   The Ford Theatre Hour 
1951   Nash Airflyte Theatre 
1951   The Prudential Family Playhouse 
1950   Shadow of the Eagle 
1950   Operation X
1950   The Desert Hawk  
1949   Fireside Theatre
1949   Now Barabbas 
1949   If This Be Sin 
1949   The Fan
1949   The Fighting O'Flynn
1947   Forever Amber
1946   Showtime 
1944   Don't Take It to Heart
1943   Yellow Canary
1942   Unpublished Story
1942   Flying Fortress 
1940   I Was an Adventuress
1940   Little Old New York 
1939   Here I Am a Stranger 
1939   Stanley and Livingstone 
1939   The Hound of the Baskervilles
1939   The Little Princess
1938   Kentucky 
1938   Submarine Patrol 
1938   My Lucky Star 
1938   Four Men and a Prayer 
1934   Sing As We Go