Terry Richards

For the professional wrestler sometimes known as Terry Richards, see Rhyno.

David Terence Richards (2 November 1932 – 14 June 2014)[1][2] was a British actor and stuntman, best known for his appearance as the Arabian swordsman in the 1981 Indiana Jones film Raiders of the Lost Ark.[1] During his career, Richards worked on over 100 productions across film and television; worked in nine James Bond films; fought as a stuntman in scenes with Indiana Jones, James Bond, Luke Skywalker and Rambo; and doubled for Donald Sutherland, Tom Selleck and Christopher Lee.[1][2]

Biography

Born in South London to Welsh parents,[1][2] he served in the Welsh Guards.[1][2] After finishing his national service, in 1957 whilst working as a scaffolder, a friend from the Guards told him they needed extras with military training. After gaining the job, he was asked if he could fall off scaffolding during a riot scene, which he accepted.[1][2] In 1958 he served as a fighting extra alongside Kirk Douglas in The Vikings,[1][2] and in 1960 was a co-founder of The Stunt Register, a UK industry list of accredited stunt performers.[1][2] He also appeared in an episode of The Avengers as a Cybernaut, a murderous silver robot controlled by Peter Cushing (1967) "Return of the Cybernauts".[3]

Richards' most famous scene was as the scripted "large Arabian swordsman" in the 1981 Indiana Jones film Raiders of the Lost Ark.[1] Director Steven Spielberg shot the production's Cairo, Egypt-located fight scenes in the town of Kairouan, Tunisia. Richards had practiced for weeks with his heavy Arabian sword to create the scripted fight scene, choreographing a fight between the swordsman and Jones's whip.[4] However, after filming the initial shots of the scene (and with Harrison Ford suffering from dysentery), after lunch, Ford and Spielberg agreed to cut the scene down to a single gunshot, giving Jones a humorously unfair advantage.[5] It was later voted in at No.5 on Playboy magazine's list of best all-time scenes,[4] and also created a Lego character of the large Arab.[1]

Richards retired after his last performance in the 1997 James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, where his character beat-up Pierce Brosnan in a recording studio in Germany.[1] Richards lived his later life in Ruislip.[2] His funeral service and burial took place on 24 June 2014 at Breakspear Crematorium following his death from a sudden cardiac arrest in his sleep. [2]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1960 The Flesh and the Fiends Medical Student Uncredited
1966 The Idol Laborer
1966 Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. Resistance Member Uncredited
1967 The Dirty Dozen Sergeant MacIntosh Blake Uncredited
1968 Attack on the Iron Coast Commando Uncredited
1968 Hammerhead Parking Garage Thug Uncredited
1971 The Last Valley Norseman Uncredited
1971 1000 Convicts and a Woman
1973 Kidnapped Mungo Campbell
1973 The Mackintosh Man Inmate Uncredited
1976 Confessions of a Driving Instructor Monks Hill Rugger Team
1978 The Pink Panther Strikes Again Bruce the Knife
1980 The Empire Strikes Back Wampa Uncredited
1980 Flash Gordon Ming's Brute #4
1981 Raiders of the Lost Ark Arab Swordsman
1983 High Road to China Ginger
1985 Red Sonja Djart
1988 Haunted Summer Fletcher
1988 The Bourne Identity Johann
1990 Good Girl, Bad Girl Man Uncredited
1997 Tomorrow Never Dies Carver's thug Uncredited, (final film role)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Terry Richards: UK stunt man dies aged 81". BBC News. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Alan Hayes (24 June 2014). "Funeral of Raiders Of The Lost Ark stuntman Terry Richards". GetWestLondon.com. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  3. ^ showing on freeview channel 61, Jan 2016
  4. ^ a b "Indiana Jones Stuntman Terry Richards Interview". Red Carpet News. 2012. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  5. ^ "The Urban Legends of Indiana Jones". Lucasfilm. 2004-01-13. Archived from the original on 2007-06-12. Retrieved 2007-03-11.