Actor Richard Bright: career, films, personal life

In our material I would like to talk about such a famous American actor as Richard Bright. How successful was his career? In what films was the actor shot? What is known about his personal life? The answers to these and other questions can be found in our article.

First roles

Actor Richard Bright was born on June 28, 1937 in New York City. The father of the future artist Ernest worked in the shipbuilding company. Mother Matilda was an ordinary housewife. Previously, no one in the boy's family was in films. However, this did not stop our hero from making a rather successful career in film and television.

To participate in filming Richard Bright began at the age of 18. Debut for the guy was the role of a character named Ditch in the television series Studio One (1957). In the same year, the novice actor was involved in the work on the creation of the project "Never Love a Stranger". However, here Richard Bright got an inconspicuous, episodic role. With the release of the film on television screens, the artist's name was not even indicated in the credits.

Then the young actor was followed by shooting in a series of serials, among which: "Betting on Tomorrow", "Defenders", "Somerset". Each of these projects turned out to be long-playing, popular with the audience and brought Richard Bright a wide recognition.

Star Actor's Hour

In 1972, Bright received an offer to take part in the filming of the epic gangster drama of the cult director Francis Ford Coppola - The Godfather. The plot of the film was based on the famous novel of the same name by writer Mario Puzo, which was published in 1969.

During the creation of the tape, Richard was to work on one set with such celebrities of world importance as Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and James Caan. Bright got the role of a character named Al Neri - the bodyguard of Michael Corleone. The actor was able to so successfully get accustomed to the role of his own hero, that the director of the picture, Ford Coppola decided to continue cooperation with him during the filming of the two subsequent parts of the cinematic saga.

Career development

After participating in the shooting of The Godfather, Bright turned into a famous, popular actor. His schedule became extremely busy. In general, he got roles in films of criminal content. And, playing in such films, Richard equally successfully coped with the disclosure of images of both real scoundrels and respectable, law-abiding citizens.

In 1984, the actor was once again lucky to get a role in the film, which was destined to become a cult. At that time, the artist was involved in the work on the creation of the gangster tape directed by Sergio Leone - "Once Upon a Time in America." In the film, based on the successful novel by writer Harry Gray, Richard Bright was to play a criminal named Joe, who is involved in criminal trials in the streets of New York during times of the dry law.

It is worth noting that the cinematic work of director Sergio Leone was censored. From the version of the film intended for display in cinemas, most of the most frank bloody episodes and undisguised scenes of cruelty were cut out. Therefore, the tape was initially rather coldly received by critics, as well as by a wide spectator audience. However, in preparation for the release of the picture on media for video players, its original structure was restored. After that, the film received the highest praise and received the status of one of the best works in the genre of gangster dramas. Not left without praise critics and the game of Richard Bright, as well as other actors who participated in the shootings.

One of the main projects in the career of the actor was the series "Law and Order", the first episodes of which appeared on television screens in 1990. Filming in the film, Bright devoted more than ten years of his life. It is noteworthy that in some years the actor appeared in the project in various roles. In particular, the artist participated in the spin-offs of the series entitled "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" (2002), as well as "Law and Order: Special Corps" (2005). The project was completely closed in 2010. The reason for the decision was a critical drop in television ratings.

Personal life

Richard Bright was married three times. Elisa Granis was the first to choose the famous actor. The couple produced a daughter. With this woman artist broke up in 1960.

In 1967, Bright linked fate with a girl named Susan Wallace. This union was destined to last for a decade. In 1977, Richard divorced Susan, and then married a famous actress Rutanya Alda, who gave birth to his son. With his last wife, the actor lived until his death, until in 2006, as a result of an accident, his life was tragically cut off under the wheels of the car.

Richard Bright, films

During his long career in American cinema, the actor played roles in more than nine dozen films. Probably, it makes no sense to list the artist's unobtrusive works. We note only the most successful paintings with the participation of Bright:

• "Godfather".
• "The escape".
• "The wave of crime."
• "The Godfather 2".
• "Hair".
• "Once upon time in America".
• "Cut and run."
• "Marathon runner".
• "Red Heat".
• "The Godfather 3".
• "Law and order"
• "Beautiful girls."
• "Law and Order: Criminal Intent".
• The Sopranos Clan.
• "Law and order: Special Corps".